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Spring Coming?

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Trees. Eastern, Washington

Wasn’t there some prediction from the Ground Hog here recently that we would be on our way to greener pastures? Hmm…In Montana we are now approaching  that crazy time of year where winter seems like it’s never retreating and if you have some form of seasonal affective disorder, you start going a little nutty.

We had some well below zero temps this last week and what looks like some more snow in the future . Good news is in a few weeks some of that will be easing up and some more exciting things will be happening in the state that will take our minds off the endless winter and start to signal a change in the seasons.

The annual Snow Geese migration will be happening in a few weeks with hundreds of thousands of birds making their way north with a layover at Freezeout Lake in central Montana. Photographers and Birdwatchers are gearing up for this event and if you haven’t had a chance to check out the migration, you really should as it’s an awesome testament to the power of life and nature. Really an unforgettable experience to see that many birds together.

I plan on being up there for a few days, so should have some images to share here soon.

Currently I have been traveling on assignment for PBS in Wyoming and Washington State for a continuation of images for their upcoming series America Revealed. It looks to be an interesting series on the infrastructure of America hosted by Yul Kwon and should be out next year. You can find out more here.

Hopefully I will again be more diligent with some regular postings and have more images to share. Now let’s hope for some sunshine at least:)

Freezeout Lake 2009

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Swans over Freezeout Lake

Swans at Freezeout Lake.©Jason Savage

Just got back from a quick trip up to Freezeout Lake yesterday. It’s still a little early in the season, as nearly all the ponds are frozen. There is a little bit of open water, but not much.

For those who aren’t familiar with Freezout Lake, it’s located near Choteau, and is a major stopping point for the Snow Geese and other birds on their way up north. The count on the Snow Geese can get into the hundreds of thousands and it’s one of the most impressive bird displays I have ever encountered.

People travel from all around to witness this amazing event and to see the different birds that are arriving.

As of yesterday, I think the count on the Snow Geese was around thirty-thousand and will continue to grow over the next couple weeks. There were also a fair numbers of Swans and Pintails.

Snow Geese.©Jason Savage

Having limited shooting time lately, it was Murphy’s Law or something like that, that the weather was for the birds (no pun, seriously). But as luck would have it, the weather forecast doesn’t always hold true and I was granted a few breaks in the rain clouds for a little sunlight. Overall it was a beautiful day at Freezeout and I look forward to the upcoming weeks.

Snow Geese.©Jason Savage

With the warm temps, the ice should be gone soon and lots more action to see.

If you haven’t made the trip before, I would highly recommend it.