Geese, Swans, and Bears…Oh My!

What a wonderful trip my friends and I took last weekend to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge!  We went hoping to see migrating birds.  We were thrilled to see snow geese, tundra swans, and bears while visiting the refuge.  Geese, swans, and bears…oh my!

The refuge is located near Columbia, NC and Plymouth, NC.  We stayed in Plymouth while visiting the refuge.  Prior to visiting Plymouth, I would recommend researching

the restaurants there to make plans for dining while in the area.

You can enjoy the refuge on foot, in your car, or on a boat.  The weekend of our visit was during and after a great deal of rain.  It was great to have a four wheel drive vehicle.  Some places would have been extremely difficult to navigate without four wheel drive.  Click on the video below to see driving conditions one morning while we were visiting the refuge.

The first evening of our stay we were driving around looking for the snow geese.  This was our main objective of the visit.  It was not until shortly before sunset that we were able to find them.  When you find the snow geese, you FIND them!  It is an experience that is really difficult to describe.  Once we found the snow geese we could see them, hear them, and even feel them.  I will post a video I took using my phone to give you just a sense of what it was like to experience it.

I will need to work on my video skills but still think it will give you an idea of the experience.  The visual, through my camera lens, looked like this.

It was amazing.  They were there and then, within fifteen minutes, they were all gone.  We left hoping to experience seeing them again the next day.

The next day the refuge offered more opportunities.  We began the day watching the Tundra Swans on the water.  The sunrise colors reflecting in the water created such a peaceful scene.

After enjoying the sunrise we were off to hunt for the geese again.  What we discovered is that we were not the only ones on the lookout for the geese.

What a wonderful trip we had to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  When you plan your visit, be sure to check their website to see what wildlife you may encounter at the time of your visit.  The website includes information regarding what you might see during each season.

I know that I will look forward to my next visit to this spectacular wildlife refuge!