a couple of weeks ago i drove to seattle to do some lab work with a colleague of mine. i don't usually drive, but i didn't think the airlines would appreciate a centrifuge, dry ice, and acetone in my carry-on bag.
i've driven that stretch of i-5 numerous times while living on the west coast and i can honestly say that i really enjoy it. well, except for the part from santa cruz to redding. i can usually do without that stretch of traffic and flat land. but this year the bay area was my only nemesis because the pacific flyway was cranking!
the pacific flyway is one of the four major north-south migration corridors that pass through the united states. it actually runs from alaska all the way to patagonia in south america. birds typically migrate along some part of this flyway in the spring and fall to move between feeding and breeding areas. the pacific flyway runs right down the central valley in california. lots of birds use this route (see more of them in a blog post from 2012), but the geese win awards for their numbers and noise.
when i was driving home from seattle, the skies were filled with snow geese and a variant of snow called blue geese. there were also a few fields next to i-5 covered in them, and as luck would have it, the fields were also close to an exit. i couldn't resist...i had to get closer so i could hear the cacophony and see the chaos of hundreds of birds moving around.
i'm no stranger to this sight, and it made me nostalgic about my childhood. i spent many hours of my youth sitting in hunting blinds in northern minnesota with my dad, brother, and one of our trusty black labs waiting for the geese to fly over our heads within shotgun range. truth be told, we spent a lot more time whittling sticks than shooting geese, but the sound of thousands of geese just on the other side of the trees was something magical.... something special enough to warrant getting out of my warm sleeping bag at 5:30 in the morning rain, snow, or shine. or maybe it was the thermos of hot chocolate...
i've driven that stretch of i-5 numerous times while living on the west coast and i can honestly say that i really enjoy it. well, except for the part from santa cruz to redding. i can usually do without that stretch of traffic and flat land. but this year the bay area was my only nemesis because the pacific flyway was cranking!
the pacific flyway is one of the four major north-south migration corridors that pass through the united states. it actually runs from alaska all the way to patagonia in south america. birds typically migrate along some part of this flyway in the spring and fall to move between feeding and breeding areas. the pacific flyway runs right down the central valley in california. lots of birds use this route (see more of them in a blog post from 2012), but the geese win awards for their numbers and noise.
when i was driving home from seattle, the skies were filled with snow geese and a variant of snow called blue geese. there were also a few fields next to i-5 covered in them, and as luck would have it, the fields were also close to an exit. i couldn't resist...i had to get closer so i could hear the cacophony and see the chaos of hundreds of birds moving around.
blue geese
snow geese
i'm no stranger to this sight, and it made me nostalgic about my childhood. i spent many hours of my youth sitting in hunting blinds in northern minnesota with my dad, brother, and one of our trusty black labs waiting for the geese to fly over our heads within shotgun range. truth be told, we spent a lot more time whittling sticks than shooting geese, but the sound of thousands of geese just on the other side of the trees was something magical.... something special enough to warrant getting out of my warm sleeping bag at 5:30 in the morning rain, snow, or shine. or maybe it was the thermos of hot chocolate...
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