First Light, Winter Wetlands. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.
Migratory geese fly in the first light of a winter morning, Central Valley.
My drive began in darkness and nearly two hours later as I approached my destination the faint pre-dawn light appeared above the silhouette of the Sierra Nevada to the east. As usual, I arrived before sunrise on this late-winter morning, and began getting set up to photograph birds before the first direct light arrived. One of the best moments after these long, dark drives is when I first open the car door and hear thousands of geese and cranes nearby.
I had a particular location in mind for this morning, a place where I knew that the dawn light would come from the ideal direction if I could find birds still there. But almost immediately groups of snow geese began to rise from nearby ponds against the colorful predawn sky, flying in circles above the wetland terrain.
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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That depends a bit on the season. Earlier in the California migratory season, they do seem to pretty much disappear during the day. They head off to some distant daytime location and then return at nightfall. But near the end of their seasonal stay, around late-February and early-March, they seem to hang out in the general vicinity all day. They might all (or nearly all) leave this specific spot, but they wouldn’t fly far!
Great timing! Would the pond have been empty within an hour or so??