Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Place: Greenbrook Sanctuary, NJ, USA
Date: May 1975
Equipment: Nikkormat Ftn, 100/2.8 Vivitar lens
Film: Kodachrome 64
Exposure: center weighted meter
Scan: Minolta Dimage, cropped at bottom

Commentary: This is probably my oldest bird photo I'm willing to show anymore. The Kodachrome image has held up well over 28+ years. It was taken before I was completely consumed by birding, and I was looking along the edge of a pond in northern NJ for frogs or dragonflies. Canada Geese had not yet invaded the mid Atlantic region at that time, and actually behaved like wild birds then. I was quite surprised when this goose showed interest in what I was doing, and came close to peer at me through the grasses. I like the feeling of mystery this pose gives to a bird that has become all too common in much of the United States.