23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
Flaps Down

Canada geese angle for a twilight landing in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Reserve, a North Carolina coastal wetland near Mattamuskeet Lake and the village of Plymouth. Each winter, thousands of geese, tundra swans, and other arctic and sub-arctic birds spend the winter here, arriving sometime in December and departing in January or February.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2023
Date Uploaded: 12.2025
Photo Location: Plymouth, North Carolina, United States of America
Copyright: © Fred Harwell