Category Archives: Photographs: Birds

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

First Light, Winter Wetlands

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First Light, Winter Wetlands
Migratory geese fly in the first light of a winter morning, Central Valley.

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

Six Cranes in Flight

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Six Cranes in Flight
Six cranes in flight against California Central Valley winter sky

Six Cranes in Flight. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Six cranes in flight against California Central Valley winter sky.

This was a very cooperative flock of lesser sandhill cranes. Although, as expected, they did divert away from my position to avoid flying over me as they passed, the did face into the light in just the right way, and they managed to (intentionally, I’m sure!) coordinate their wing positions so that almost all of the basic wing positions are visible. Even more: not one of them blocks another bird, and all of them are completely visible.

I photographed this group on a late-winter day when I had gone to California’s Great Central Valley. Based on past years the departure of the great flocks of snow and Ross’s geese was only days away, and I hoped to photograph them one more time. The end of “goose season” (though a few other types of geese stick around) is perhaps the best time to photograph geese and cranes in their active modes. Huge flocks of both kinds of birds are around, and they are often easier to photograph at this time of year.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Red-Winged Blackbird Territorial Display

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Red-Winged Blackbird Territorial Display
Red-Winged blackbird on its perch, late-winter territorial display.

Red-Winged Blackbird Territorial Display. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Red-Winged blackbird on its perch, late-winter territorial display.

One beneficial personal effect of my bird photography has been greater awareness of parts of the local natural world that I had not paid a lot of attention to. As I have mentioned previously, I not really a “birder” in the usual sense of the word, and while I’ve enjoyed observing birds in the wild I can’t claim to be an expert on them. But photographing them has encouraged me to ask questions about what I’m seeing and to learn more.

There are two similar types of small blackbirds where I photograph, the tricolored blackbird and the red-winged blackbird. Both seem to my untrained bird-watching eyes to be pretty darned similar, apart from the extra bands of color on the shoulders of the former. Both are common in grasslands and related agricultural areas. Some sources suggest that populations have declined due to climate change and the loss of habitat, and that their range has shrunk. Apparently the eye-catching display — puffed out feathers and “exhibit of the colorful shoulder patches — is, at least during the late-winter period when I made the photograph, used to mark territory prior to the breeding season.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Three Cranes in Formation

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Three Cranes in Formation
“Three Cranes in Formation” — Three lesser sandhill cranes against blue winter sky above California’s Central Valley.

As I posted this I was considering the title… and it occurred to me that “Three More Cranes” might be the appropriate modification, considering how many crane photographs I have been sharing! And I’m not done — there are still a few more in the queue. Think of it as a sort of end-of-season (at least in Central California) crane fest, with the photographs coming from my final two visits to local crane areas this winter.

Getting a good, close photograph of cranes in flight is more of a challenge than you might think. On a day like this one, the cranes are everywhere, and they are quite active. But a whole bunch of things have to fall into place for it to work, and most of them are decidedly not under the photographer’s control. There must be some sort of good light, and the cranes must be flying in a good direction relative to that light. Their flight must take them near (and preferably over) my position, but cranes are notoriously finicky about flying directly over people. The individual birds must align themselves in aesthetic ways — not blocking one another or creating awkward shadows, wings in an interesting position, yet close enough to one another to fit in the frame. The truth is that a day of photography may not produce a photograph with the birds aligned as beautifully as this trio.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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