Category Archives: Photographs: Birds

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Roadrunner

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Roadrunner, Death Valley
“Roadrunner” — A greater roadrunner, Death Valley National Park.

After more than two-and-a-half decades of visiting Death Valley National Park, you would think that I’d have see quite a few of these birds. But, no, this is the first time I have encountered a roadrunner in the park. Actually, there were two. I arrived at my campsite and was getting my gear out when a couple of them showed up to investigate my stuff.

I was surprised by how close they came. I would have assumed, especially having never run into them here before, that they would have been more shy and cautious. In any case, I grabbed one of my cameras, put a long lens on it, and managed to squeeze off a few photographs before the birds decided to go investigate someone else’s campsite.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Snow Geese in Formation

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Snow Geese in Formation
“Snow Geese in Formation” — A group of snow geese in flight and lined up vertically.

Most of these migratory birds will likely have departed from their winter homes in Central California by the time you see this photograph. They arrive in the fall, overwinter, and then depart some time in early March. Back in the pandemic year of 2020 I visited one of the places where I photograph them about one week into March, and they were still there. I went back one week later, and they had all departed. The place seemed awfully lonely!

This group was part of a much larger flock that was in motion above wetland ponds — thousands of birds swirling around as they contemplated where they might land. The light was just right for this group — it came from the side and from down low, illuminating the birds’ undersides. (Often photos of birds overhead end up too dark against the bright sky.) I also like the fact that the five of them together demonstrate every phase of their wing flapping.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

The Fly-In

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The Fly-In — geese arrive over a wetlands pond at sunset.
“The Fly-In” — Thousands of migratory geese arrive in the wetlands at sunset.

A day spent photographing migratory geese and other birds often includes a lot of “slow time” when little is happening. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — sometimes the quiet and stillness is enough by itself. But around sunrise and sunset there is often a of activity as large flocks of birds take to the air and head to nighttime locations. If you are where they arrive, it is the “fly-in.” When they depart, we refer to the “fly-out.”

This huge flock of geese (almost certainly snow geese for the most part) arrived just after I went to this spot to photograph a colorful winter sunset and its reflection in the waters of a wetland pond. The flock arrived, circled, and eventually settled down on the water… and quiet returned.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Cranes

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Flock of Cranes
“Flock of Cranes” — A flock of lesser sandhill cranes feeding in an agricultural field.

Unless and until I return to my old files to review them later on, this is likely this season’s last photograph of migratory birds. I photographed this group of lesser sandhill cranes in an old corn field on my final seasonal visit back in early March. By that date the departure of geese was perhaps a week away and the cranes would leave soon after that. This was nearly the last photograph of them I made this season.

There is a familiar arc to “migratory bird season,” as I think of the period between about November and March. Although the cranes arrive earlier, I usually make my first visit to photograph them in November. At that point they are fewer in number and likely to be off in some distant inaccessible area, and mostly I photograph them during the morning and evening fly-in/out. As the season continues they seem to become more comfortable in their surroundings, and I can often find them close enough to photograph in the middle of the day. But mid-February they and the geese become extremely active in the weeks before their northward migration.

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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