A winter's walk around the Wildlife Loop in Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge often reveals scenes of such wonder that all a watcher can do is stand mutely by and try to absorb it. Recently a few friends and I had such a moment as we watched a large flock of snow geese continuously lift up, circle round, and set back down on Snow Goose Pool. This behavior was soon explained by the appearance of two mature bald eagles who proceeded to buzz the flock of geese over and over again. Each time the entire flock would lift, circle, and set back down all the while conversing as only snow geese can. While I'm not a believer in anthropomorphizing animals, I couldn't help imagining one eagle saying to the other "Hey, watch me do that again!".
These geese, along with thousands of others that winter on the Eastern Shore, wing their way over the MSC campus throughout the winter days as they venture to farm fields for dropped grain and grasses. Their distinctive calls bring me often to the office window to watch the long skeins of geese stretching across the winter sky. Sometimes I can only hear their muffled calls as they fly high above clouds. They are a reminder of the wonderful, wild nature still left on the Eastern Shore.
