Exactly two weeks after my early December 27 hour trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, I returned. I hoped to get another shot at the snazzy Red Fox that I had photographed before.
How things had changed! There was not a single colored leaf on any tree; all had dropped. The Daiseys had disappeared. The vegetation looked, well, like mid-winter. Virtually all the teal were gone and numbers of Black Ducks, Gadwall, and Shovelers were greatly reduced. Canada Geese and Pintails were at about the same level. Tundra Swans appeared to have tripled in number.
When I drove in on the 15th, the tide was very high. There were no Snow Geese in any of the fresh water ponds. I saw a few Northern Harriers flying over the salt marshes, but none came into range. There were a few Great Blue Herons, but no Bald Eagles.
On the way out, the fawn-faced Red Fox appeared at the same exact location of the previous trip. This trip I got a good deal of time to work him before others arrived and spoiled the shoot. I was sad to see that he had a bad case of mange, a disease caused by parasitic mites that will probably kill him. Untreated, animals loose all the hair in the infected area and often succumb to hypothermia when the weather turns cold.
The following morning, I was into the refuge before dawn (about 7, dawn being 7:23). There were already a few cars present that seemed to be set up to catch the arrival of the Snow Geese from the salt marshes. Often they first drop into one of the fresh water ponds and drink and bath before heading out for breakfast. This time they just lifted off, climbed and headed out to the corn fields.
I noticed a half moon setting in the west and decided to try to catch a string of geese against it. Geese were flying in strings of fifteen to perhaps fifty, and there was wave after wave arriving. By adjusting the car as they were coming, I was able to make a few nice shots as intended. It was very tricky, however. You can see one on my Facebook page (name: Bob Mumford)
Other than a few shots of fairly close ducks, that was about it for the photography. I never saw the full Red Fox on this trip, although I did see Fawn Face on Friday morning trotting down the main wildlife drive. He never paused for anything!