A Burst of Geese

The day was slow, perhaps it was the uninspiring cloudy weather after the glorious blue skies of the past few days. By the time we took a walk down to our local lake it was already going dark.
The day was very still and we both took some photos of the reflections and the lake. It was quiet, very quiet. Then we heard a distant sound, drawing nearer. The sound resolved into honking and we knew geese were on the way.  Around 15 came down the valley from the north, flying just above the trees and swept over us and the lake, heading into the distance. As the noise of the wings and the honking died away I thought how quickly they appeared, came over and disappeared again and how there was hardly time to get the camera out. As the thought appeared so did the same faint screeching again.  More were on the way. Now I was better prepared and focused on the tree tops so the light levels and focus were more-or-less right, just as another larger flock came over, even lower than before, appearing to be flying even faster and gone again in an exhilarating burst of noise and movement.  A third wave followed and then all was quiet again.
It was really too dark to be taking action shots, and none of the pictures were sharp. There was just too much action for 1/30th second. But that was in some ways a reflection of reality because everything happened so quickly it was more an impression than something to look at. 
Hence today’s blip, technically awful but reminding me of the speed, energy, power and noise of those flocks, pushing to get as far south as they could before darkness fell.

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