Yesterday’s kayak outing was a bit slow, but had it’s moments. As soon as I arrived and launched the kayak, the scenery was unbelievable. Fog was everywhere in the crisp morning air (~45°F). As soon as I reached the open area where I usually find wildlife, an adult beaver swam ahead of me into the fog. But not much other action at the time. Thirty minutes went by and then I heard the unmistakable honking of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) in the air. Within a couple of minutes, the geese came into view:
Then, as the noise became louder and louder, I saw the first few geese of this group, rounding the bend in the water and heading straight for me as they approached for landing. At that time, they were not aware that I was sitting in the small open area that they were targeting as their landing runway:
This not uncommon for me in the kayak. It seems that there have been several times over the past couple of years when ducks or geese attempted, or even managed to land all around me in the kayak. In fact, last spring I had a small group of Blue-Winged Teal land within 15 feet from the kayak! As soon as they would land, however, they would realize their mistake and would immediately blast back off to find a more solitary location. Yesterday’s Canada Geese realized I was in the opening just before they hit the water … they immediately realigned their course and headed back up into the sky, flying very closely to me in the kayak:
This is one of the things I really enjoy about kayak photography … the kayak sits so low in the water that a lot of the wildlife approach it very willingly, regardless if by accident or on purpose. This often allows me to get some really nice closeup images that I otherwise would not have gotten.
And when the forecast call for fog, I salivate even more! Besides creating an ethereal mood, the fog helps to “hide” me from the approaching wildlife. I just love those “Foggy Morning Breakdowns”!