Canada Geese are large waterfowl with black necks, brown bodies, large, black webbed feet, black heads, white chinstraps and black bills.
The Canada Goose was unusual because it had spotted, white plumage on its head and I was able to take photos of both left and right profile views of its head.
So... 2020 has arrived and for me here in northern Utah that has brought gray skies, falling snow, low light, plenty of clouds and wintry weather.
Looking at the extended forecast I see indications that it might snow here on Christmas Day.
This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.
In the case of this photo of a lone Canada Goose flying in front of the snowy Wasatch Mountains I took the photo because I liked how nicely lit the goose was in contrast to the darker, snow and cloud covered mountains.
I'm happy that I was able to photograph birds on Christmas Eve in decent light and that somehow to me this is more than "just" a goose, it is a Christmas Goose and who am I to look a gift goose in the bill?
The light was best when the geese flew in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains which is when I photographed this flying Canada Goose with its wings above its body.
One photo that made me laugh as soon as I saw it on my camera's LCD screen, a peek-a-boo Canada Goose peering at me through its wing tips as it came in to land on the pond.
Neither of these images will knock anyone's socks off but for me they show these coots and geese in the snow storm and the harsh conditions they live in, just birds being birds.
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
I've lived in many locations during my lifetime where I didn't see or hear Canada Geese at all, so I don't take them for granted; I celebrate their calls.
I've spent a lifetime appreciating these large geese and when I have lived in locations where Canada Geese weren't present I have missed hearing them calling overhead or seeing them floating by on the water.
Yesterday while photographing the birds at my local pond this resting Canada Goose caught my eye because of the bright blue water behind it and the great view I had of the eye of the goose while it had its bill tucked under its feathers.
When some Canada Geese started swimming towards me I took a burst of photos hoping to get a at least one image where snow wasn't blocking the view of the eye of the goose in the front.
Canada Geese can look a little goofy when they are landing because they often use their wings, tails and even their feet as brakes to slow themselves down right before they land.
These two photos of Canada Geese were taken in very different lighting conditions and while both tested my skills as a bird photographer one of them required more thought from me and challenged my skills more too.
I've been wondering if "my" Canada x Snow Goose hybrid will be back this winter, if it will show up at the same pond and if I will be able to photograph it again.
This pair of Canada Geese in flight had taken off and flew in front of a leafless willow when I photographed them close together while they were on the wing.
There are lots of Canada Geese near where I live in part because of the grassy golf course that is not too far away and because of the Jordan River and several small ponds that are just down the hill.
Yesterday morning was bright and sunny and I had fun photographing Turkey Vultures at a corral, a hillside Canada Goose and a Red-tailed Hawk flying over with nesting materials in northern Utah.
Because they are very common in most North America Canada Geese are often overlooked as subjects by some bird photographers.
I spent about 40 minutes photographing the gulls, ducks and geese in the snow storm here in northern Utah yesterday and had a lot of fun doing it.
That morning the Canada Geese were the most lively of the subjects I photographed, bathing, mating and exhibiting threat displays.
Each of us are the authors of how 2017 will be written in those history books as surely as we are the pathfinders in the journeys of our own lives.
When I had the opportunity to photograph this Canada Goose landing on Willow Pond I took it and I caught the goose as its webbed feet hit the water so that it looked like the goose was water skiing.
Yesterday morning at my local pond I took a series of images of a Canada Goose lifting off plus more photos of the Canada x Snow Goose hybrid I found there.
This Canada Goose hybrid could be a Canada x Snow Goose or a Canada x Greater White-fronted Goose hybrid, those two species make the most sense to me, but I can't be certain of its parentage.
Three days ago when the sun broke through the clouds in the afternoon I went to the pond and was able to take several Canada Geese portraits with the blue water of the pond in the background.
I photographed this Canada Goose calling in flight six years ago as it flew over Glover's Pond at Farmington Bay.
I had a great deal of fun photographing the pelicans, herons, egrets and geese in flight in the rapidly changing light yesterday morning at Bear River MBR.