{"id":141786,"date":"2025-03-19T02:41:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T07:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=141786"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:07:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T19:07:24","slug":"flying-canada-geese-at-the-arkansas-river-valley-nature-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/19\/flying-canada-geese-at-the-arkansas-river-valley-nature-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Canada Geese at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, I was delighted to photograph a pair of Canada Geese flying over Wells Lake in golden morning light.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-141783 size-full\" title=\"Flying Canada Geese at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823.jpg\" alt=\"Flying Canada Geese at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Flying Canada Geese at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 1600, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Most of the Canada Geese I\u2019ve seen over the past few weeks have paired up for the nesting season, and these two were no exception. Before long, little goslings will be joining their parents for swims in Wells Lake and other nearby waters.<\/p>\n<p>When these two geese lifted off from the far side of the lake, their honking calls echoed over the water and the nature center. They looked gorgeous in the light.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t see as many Canada Geese here in Arkansas as I used to in Utah, but just like there, I\u2019m always happy to have them in my viewfinder, no matter how abundant they are. No matter how annoying some people think they are, they have a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n<p>Besides, flying geese make great practice for keeping my flight photography skills finely tuned.<\/p>\n<p>There were long stretches in my life when I went years without seeing Canada Geese, like when I lived overseas, in Hawaii, and in Florida. Because of that, I try not to take this species for granted.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think that\u2019s even possible for me. I deeply appreciate all birds.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/canada-geese-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Canada Geese photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, I was delighted to photograph a pair of Canada Geese flying over Wells Lake in golden morning light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,16308,27,28,13951],"tags":[4004,32,4774,4052,4122,713,4775,5178,2138,4099,2139,10698,3996,2063,16309,373],"class_list":["post-141786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-arkansas-river-valley-nature-center","category-avian","category-canada-geese","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-branta-canadensis","tag-canada-geese","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-geese","tag-goose","tag-lake","tag-mates","tag-morning-light","tag-pair","tag-park","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-wells-lake","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/canada-geese-flight-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-7823.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ASS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14474,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/28\/taking-a-gander-at-mating-canada-geese\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":0},"title":"Taking a Gander at mating Canada Geese","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Officially it isn't spring yet but the Canada Geese here in the Salt Lake Valley don't seem to be paying much attention to our human calendars at all and have begun their mating season.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pair of Canada Geese after mating in a pond in northern Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48036,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/08\/08\/canada-geese-and-how-their-calls-signal-a-change-of-seasons-for-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":1},"title":"Canada Geese and How Their Calls Signal a Change of Seasons For Me","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Goose portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2628.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2628.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2628.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-portrait-mia-mcpherson-2628.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138977,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/26\/more-snow-snow-geese-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":2},"title":"More Snow: Snow Geese At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I\u2019m writing about more \u201csnow\u201d, but not the fluffy, melty kind. Nope, it\u2019s the live, honking, feathered kind. By that, I mean beautiful Snow Geese.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Oklahoma&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow Geese in a corn field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/snow-geese-corn-field-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/snow-geese-corn-field-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/snow-geese-corn-field-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1781.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/snow-geese-corn-field-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-1781.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141865,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/21\/great-blue-heron-at-arkansas-river-valley-nature-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Heron At Arkansas River Valley Nature Center","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Great Blue Heron in low light last week at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center. The heron and its reflection caught my eye.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron at Wells Lake, Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136909,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/16\/charleston-lake-fog-a-start-to-a-beautiful-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":4},"title":"Charleston Lake Fog &#8211; A Start To A Beautiful Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'm sharing a view and video of Charleston Lake shrouded in fog, with a Bald Eagle perched high in a tree. It was a beautiful start to the morning.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bald Eagle in a fog on Charleston Lake Park, Franklin County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bald-eagle-fog-charleston-lake-mia-mcpherson-7242.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55962,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/06\/canada-geese-on-a-snowy-day-much-like-this-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":141786,"position":5},"title":"Canada Geese On A Snowy Day Much Like This Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Canada Geese near the Jordan River, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-day-mia-mcpherson-5904.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-day-mia-mcpherson-5904.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-day-mia-mcpherson-5904.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-day-mia-mcpherson-5904.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}