snowgeese-020208

Snowgeese are plentiful in Arkansas' White and Cache River Refuge areas in the southeast park of the state. Following are some photos and a sound digital movie of a large flock of these geese, plus other bird photos taken in the Brown's Shanty Access area of the White River National Wildlife Refuge near St. Charles, Arkansas. These were taken on Saturday, February 2, 2008. It was a beautiful sunny day and I arrived at the Refuge just after sunrise. I put a satellite map of this area following the photos.

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These images are clickable to enlarge (

). If you have broadband and wish to view all the photos in a larger format, click on:
http://www.trainweather.com/snowgeese-020208-bb.html

This was off Highway 17, just east of the Refuge.

To see a sound MPEG digital movie (8 MB so recommend broadband only) of this scene, click on:
http://www.trainweather.com/birds-020208-movieSnowgeese-7best.mpg

Count 'em. Wouldn't this be a neat jigsaw puzzle!

RIGHT-This is the dirt road to Brown's Shanty in the White River National Wildlife Refuge just after dawn, February 2, 2008. You drive on the road (from Arkansas Highway 1) 6.4 miles to get to Brown's Shanty, where the driveable road deadends. There is no cell phone signal after about 3 miles.

LEFT-An oxbow lake. The White River is about a half mile on the other side of this oxbow. RIGHT-Closeup of some cypress trees. Although I don't know the age of these particular trees, the White and Cache River National Wildlife Refuges both contain 1,000-year old cypress trees.

As you've probably heard, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was sighted in this area in 2004 with many hearing its' distinctive 'double-knocks' every year since, including me back in 2006. No, I haven't seen it, but I sure tried to spot it when I heard those double-knocks (made when the Ivory-bill uses its large beak to pound the side of an old tree to get beetle larvae).

Since it was February (about 45 degrees today), there were no mosquitos or other bugs in these swamps. However, in the summertime, you'd be swarmed with bugs of all sorts, making getting out of the car a challenge, even with mosquito repellent, since once the car door is open, swarms of bugs will enter your car, which will take hours to get out.

At Brown's Shanty now, and this Flicker woodpecker flew to this limb right next to my car. Love the blue, red, yellow and polka-dots on this bird.

RIGHT-Unknown bird type.

Blue Heron across the water.

LEFT-Cropped view of previous image. RIGHT-This Red-Headed woodpecker just walked up to the car, I assume to say hello? Take up bird-watching tickets?

Taken through the windshiled with my 15x zoom. See the berry it it's mouth on the right-hand photo?

Cardinal. The one on the right was taken looking through my sunroof.

LEFT-This knothole was in a tree across the water. RIGHT-I don't know if this was the same woodpecker that walked up to my car.

Lighter photo.

This is the Brown's Shanty area, where the bird pictures were taken. It's used for camping.

Here is a sound MPEG movie (7 MB) of the sounds of woodpeckers and birds at this site:
http://www.trainweather.com/birds-020208woodBirds--movie-4.mpg

LEFT-The green arrow is where I took the photos. RIGHT-I was in the exact center of this satellite photo. The town of St Charles is to the left. There's roughly 550,000 acres of preserved old-growth forests in this area, counting both the White and Cache River basins.

A little closer. I was at the white spot in the center. Although it looks like the dirt road goes on the left, that's only for 4-wheel drive vehicles.