A Walk in the Park (Centennial Park, Columbia, MD)

We finally seem to be getting some good weather in the Baltimore, MD area, so we decided to get outside and enjoy it over Memorial Day Weekend. We arrived at the north entrance to Centennial Park in Columbia, MD in early afternoon, intending to take a nice little walk around the lake. I took my camera to take impromptu snapshots, not for a wildlife outing.

That said, I was surprised at the wildlife I was able to point out. One thing about suburban wildlife is that since the animals are already adjusted to people, you can get reasonably close while staying in their comfort zone. I was nearly startled by this group of geese-mostly because several large groups of people and pets had walked past us in the opposite direction, meaning they had to pass directly by these geese.

I stopped in my tracks about 20 feet away to see what the geese would do when a group walked by; the 'guardian' of the geese would watch warily when anyone passed by, ready to sound the alarm if the invisible comfort line was crossed. Having a minute to think, I walked up towards them, stopping about 7 feet away, and crouched on my toes, keeping my mind clear of thought and heart clear of emotion. Soon, the geese felt very comfortable and were feeding as usual, moving closer and closer to me as I snapped my shots.

When I finished shooting, I slowly stood up, but kept myself bent at the waist-this was as much for my benefit as the geese, since I had been crouched there for 15 minutes and did not wish to pass out and startle the geese by standing quickly! Those geese were forced to move about 10 minutes afterwards by someone walking a rather rambunctious dog which scared them into the water to search another area of shoreline for food.

For anyone who wishes to visit Centennial Park, here is their website: http://www.co.ho.md.us/RAP/RAP_HoCoParksCentennial.htm