Annual migration at the Middle Creek

For just a short while every year from mid-February to mid-March, Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Pennsylvania forms a temporary refuge to multitudes of snow geese as they embark on their annual migration from the coasts & interior wetlands of America to their summer breeding grounds in the Arctic Tundra in Spring.

Just in sheer numbers alone, this is truly one of the greatest annual migrations in the planet, with the number of snow geese congregating routinely being upwards of 65,000. In fact, in 2018, the record was set at 205,000 snow geese, while in 2019, it was half the number at 100,000.

The spectacle is best viewed twice a day – at sunrise and sunset. Being herbivores, every morning, at sunrise, the snow geese leave in droves to feed on corn fields nearby. And dot before sunset, they start flying back in flocks from their feeding. The spectacle will leave you speechless – the snow geese are unbelievably loud & raucous, and their take-off and landing is just nothing short of chaotic, with every speck of air filled with birds restlessly trying to fly or land.

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Photo Tips

• Get here early – for both sunrise and sunsets. The viewing spots tend to get crowded, and the choice spots will be taken up quickly.
• There are two really good spots for viewing the birds – there is a spot right outside the visitor center and another raised viewing platform a short 8 minute walk from the Middle Creek Willow Point Parking Lot . If you are short of time, and can only afford a sunrise or a sunset, I would highly recommend the Willow Point spot over the other. The parking lot is just a 4 minute drive from the Visitor Center.
• A really good camera that can process well at high-ISO, and a fast telephoto lens. The best photos are at 400-600 mm. I typically shoot at f9 to try to hit my camera’s sweetspot and get some sharpness on the birds, and a shutter speed of at least 1/2000th of a second or lesser to freeze the shot.
• Do set the focusing mode to Continuous Focus Mode (AF-C in Nikon) to allow the camera to detect movement continuously and keep the subject in focus. Don’t forget to get extra batteries. This mode just sucks up battery power and the last thing you want is to run out of power when the spectacle unfolds.
• Try different compositions.

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Hawk @ Middle Creek

We were also lucky to spot a red-tailed hawk on our walk from the Willow Point parking lot to the viewing platform.

We saw this beautiful bird do the “swoop”, dive bomb from > 40 feet to catch a mouse.

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Where to stay

Ephrata, PA is conveniently located just 20 minutes from the Middle Creek Wildlife Reserve and has a charming little downtown with shops, boutiques and restaurants. Set deep in Amish country, you will also see quite a few horse drawn buggies on your way to Middle Creek. We did an AirBnb stay just 5 minutes from downtown.

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