Geese, Before Sunrise. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.
Migratory geese fly above Central Valley trees and low fog before sunrise on a winter morning.
What would possess me to get out of bed at 3:30AM, drive two hours before the first hints of dawn, and roll out of my vehicle in the darkness while the temperature is below freezing. This would. The end of the season for photographing these particular migratory birds is only weeks away, and I had b been holding off on visiting in hopes that there might be some fog. With no such conditions in the forecast I stopped waiting and headed out there. But luck was with me and a very shallow layer of ground fog appeared, muting the foreground terrain until the first sunlit burned it off.
The photograph looks across the tree-dotted agricultural flatlands of the Central Valley toward pre-dawn light above the Sierra Nevada. The birds come to life as the first light appears and become more and more active as sunrise approaches. The line of geese in the sky might contain Ross’s, snow, and/or white-fronted geese — but silhouetted against this light it is hard to know for certain.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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Thank you! I’m going to use as my background on my iPad!!
There’s a TON of stuff going on in this landscape at this time of day, especially in winter when the birds are there! The location is some wetlands in the Valley, and the water is very shallow pond.
Might be one of my all time favorites here! Lovely layers of activity! Is that a little waterway at the bottom or just standing water?