Winter Landscape, Geese and Cranes

Winter Landscape, Geese and Cranes
Flocks of sandhill cranes and various geese in the winter landscape of California’s Central Valley.

Winter Landscape, Geese and Cranes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Flocks of sandhill cranes and various geese in the winter landscape of California’s Central Valley.

While I anticipate eagerly the start of the migratory bird “season” in California every fall, the most exciting time to see and photograph the spectacle is in weeks before the geese depart. By this point, it seems the birds are well fed and — from my subjective perspective — getting restless about their imminent departure. During the day I often find huge mixed flocks collected together and very active.

The primary activity seems to be feeding — which makes sense, given the monumental migration they will soon undertake. But they also seem to have a hair-trigger response to anything that concerns them — a raptor flying nearby, a coyote on the prowl, an airplane passing overhead. And when this happens they take off in huge groups, spiral around for a few minutes, land, and regroup. In this photograph a flock of geese is beginning one of these brief aerial forays.


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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