Middle Creek WMA: Snow Geese and Frogs

A number of years ago now, we visited Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see the Snow Geese Migration. We've always talked of going back, but it just hadn't worked out until last weekend. There weren't as many geese this time and there were only a few Tundra Swans, but we were also a little bit later in the season. Peak migration was a few weeks ago. In spite of that, we still had a great day and saw lots of birds:

 Snow Geese coming in for a landing

 Hanging out on shore

 Something spooked them and a whole bunch of them took off from the water at once. The sound of all of their wings beating was impressive.

 Graceful landing

 Another one coming in to land.

 All lined up

 Even though there were fewer geese than the last time we were there, there were still a lot of geese.

I was trying to take pictures of Tundra Swans that were really too far away to photograph, when this little Belted Kingfisher got my attention. It was a noisy little thing, but was happy to sit there and let me take pictures (click to enlarge).

 Two ducks feeding on the lake.

 Snow geese moving en masse

 We drove the road around the WMA, which took us by a little wet spot that was full of Wood Frogs and their egg masses. The frogs themselves were really vocal and love was in the air. You can hear a brief recording of their calls here (scroll down on the right)

 A couple of frogs on the egg masses.

 Snow geese on the water later in the day.

A juvenile Bald Eagle.

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area: Birds and Flowers

Middle Creek WMA is a migratory stopover for a number of birds, including Snow Geese and Tundra Swans.  When we checked the status of the migration, Middle Creek WMA's website said they had 55,000 Snow Geese and 1,000 Tundra Swans. None of the four of us are really birders, but it sounded pretty impressive.  For a change of pace, we decided to do a short hike, followed by some bird-watching at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA), north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  At least that was the plan.  We wound up doing some bird watching, hiking a shorter distance than planned, and then doing more bird watching.  The birds were that impressive.  We did sort of feel like imposters among all of the serious birders, but we learned a lot from listening to them.  One very nice woman let us view a Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a carcass through her scope.  We also saw a Bald Eagle and Loons.


Pictures (click to enlarge):

Before the hike, we spent some time along the roadside checking out the Tundra Swans.  They are huge birds.  The Canada Geese in front of them looked small in comparison. 

There was a small gaggle of Snow Geese cruising around the bird-watching pavilion at Willow Point.  They didn't seem too bothered by all of the birders with very large scopes and cameras.

 This gaggle stayed up by the pavilion all day, dodging all of the people there to watch them.

 Dried flowers along one of the trails. 

The hike was pleasant.  It took us up on the ridge to the south of the reservoir.  We had lunch at small clearing overlooking the lake.  From there, we had a view of the snow geese feeding in a field just north of the lake.  They were more than a mile away and we could hear all of them.  All at once, they all lifted off of the field.  The dull noise of them feeding increased to a roar and the entire flock swirled up into the air. 

We descended off the ridge and came across these:  Simplocarpus foetidus (Skunk Cabbage).  It is the very first flower to emerge in the spring.  It is also several weeks early.  For comparison, last year, they emerged in mid-March in Washington, DC.  This is the yellow variety of S. foetidus, which I had not seen before.

 The red variety of S. feotidus.

 When we returned to the area with the swans, another awesome spectacle played out:  This Great Blue Heron was actively fishing.  It is about to snatch a fish out of the water in this shot.

 Click this picture to enlarge.  There is a bulge in the heron's gullet from the fish it caught.

 A Tundra Swan stretches its wings.  There were several species of ducks on the lake.  Unfortunately, none of us had a scope or lens large enough to get a good view of most of them.  These mallards give another view of just how big the swans are.

 The Snow Geese at Willow Point rising up, off the water shortly before sunset.

 Tundra Swans in flight.

 Snow Geese in flight.

 Flocks of Snow Geese returning to the lake for the night.

Sunset on Middle Creek Reservoir.