One of the great parts about being a wildlife photographer is you get to watch the cycle of life unfold before you and then be able to share it with others. Just shy of a month ago I found a Canada Goose nest with a few eggs in it. I wrote a short post on the ethics of working a nest that you can read about here. Well now the eggs have hatched and a lot of little “fuzz heads” are running around the banks with their parents.
They really are quite fun to watch. While small and easy to miss, seeing as they tend to blend in pretty well being yellow, these little guys learn pretty quick and while unable to fly they can swim alongside mom with ease. Often times when they feel threatened the family will swim across the river. The parents behavior is interesting to watch as their heads will continually bob up and down going from watching the kids to watching for predators. Then at night they all tuck in under moms wing to stay warm.
Since chicks can be easy pickings the parents keep them under close watch and on the move. When it comes to photographing them it’s best to stay a ways back with a long lens and wait for them to move towards you. This way they feel safe not threatened. I wasn’t really planning on photographing birds this day so all I had was the D5 and 70-300 VR which worked out alright.