About an hour from Seattle, there is an old town called La Conner in Skagit County, Washington. Winter seasonal migrating birds gather every year in the surrounding fields. These birds come from the south and stay for about 2 months before moving to Canada. If you visit the Skagit Wildlife Recreation Area while the birds are staying here during those 2 months, you can view spectacular scenes.

Of course the spectacular scenes are not happening all the time. You need some patience. The birds were gathered in separate small groups and they gathered in one place for some reason as if someone signaled them. Those moments are amazingly spectacular.
 
My heart pumped faster thinking about seeing that spectacular sight again in the Skagit Wildlife Recreation Area. Closer to La Conner, I saw many birds. They were Snow Geese.

There was sign for Skagit Wildlife Recreation Area. I wanted to go in further to see the birds closer, but the guard warned me not to go any further, to protect the birds. I found out later that if you go too close to the birds or disrupt them, you can get fined $226. I commend this fine to protect nature and wildlife.

Skagit Wildlife Recreation Area is famous for so many seasonal birds gathering here, and the most birds gather between December and January. Guards are going around regularly protecting the area.

I saw many photographers taking pictures with large super-telephoto lenses. These super-telephoto lenses are a must to take pictures of birds or wildlife since we can not be close to them.  

Since I was mostly taking scenery pictures, I did not have any super-telephoto lenses. Even if I did not have the proper equipment, I started taking pictures.

The birds were noisy and they were repeatedly flying and sitting and moved a little bit each time to the right as if they are communicating. It was really amazing and indescribable scenery to me. So I kept taking pictures. I took pictures professionally for a long time, but this time I felt how difficult it is to take pictures of birds.

I moved towards where the birds were moving to and came to the edge. Then all of a sudden, thousands or tens of thousands birds flew at the same time. I could not find gaps between the birds through my view finder. It was the moment that I completely lost words! It was fantastic! It was an amazing feeling that I’ve never felt before.  

Seeing the world through my viewfinder was wondrous on that day. I took pictures like crazy. I’ve never taken this many pictures on any other day before. It was a day of feeling what it’s like to capture the unexpected moments. 

Skagit Wildlife Area

The Skagit Wildlife Area contains more than 16,700 acres of wildlife habitat, comprised mostly of intertidal estuary, managed agricultural lands, and native habitats. Tidal actions, and the mixing of fresh and saltwater, help to create this unique environment. The characteristics of the area include open water, island shorelines, tidal mudflats and marshes, forested uplands, and land formed by dikes. Most of the managed units have natural habitats and fields and provide a variety of forage and cover for the wintering birds.

The wide range of habitats provides necessary resources for many aquatic and terrestrial species, such as ducks, geese, swans, raptors, and shorebirds. Some federally threatened bald eagles and salmon rely on these valuable sites as well.​


*This posting was translated from a Korean post. Click here to read the original version.