Category Archives: Photographs: Birds

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Snow Goose Quartet

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Snow Goose Quartet
Four snow geese in flight against blue sky.

Snow Goose Quartet. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four snow geese in flight against blue sky.

There was a time when migratory bird photography for me was all about the geese. Their autumn arrival still is the signal that brings me back to the migratory bird areas of Central and Northern California, though I have so many photographs of geese now that it is challenging to find a new away to see them! (Often the photographs end up being as much about the place of the birds in the landscape as about the birds themselves.)

This years “goose photography season” is rapidly drawing to a close, and I expect the flocks to depart for the arctic any day now. (They were still there late last week, but a year ago they were gone by the end of the second week of the month.) I managed to isolate this small group out of a much larger flock, and they obliged by holding formation long enough to make this photograph.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light

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Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light
A group of sandhill cranes, flying in morning light above California’s Central Valley.

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of sandhill cranes, flying in morning light above California’s Central Valley.

The sandhill cranes are still my favorites among the migratory birds that I photograph every winter. They aren’t quite as abundant, as noisy, or as active as the geese, but they have other attractions. Their characteristic cry is often the first one I hear when I arrive in the field, and their morning take-off often starts my days of photography… and their twilight return concludes it. Their flight patterns are a bit more sedate than those of geese and are characterized by a slower pace of wing motion.

Photographing a group like this can be a bit challenging, and a lot of pieces have to fall into place to make it work. In my experience, flying cranes often tend to divert from their trajectory rather than fly over a photographer, often breaking to one side or the other at the last minute. They also tend to not pay a whole lot of attention to photographic considerations such as orienting themselves ideally to the sun’s light. And when groups do fly overhead they often block one another from view. This little group, however, did everything just right! The flew almost into the early morning light, diverting just enough to put a bit more light on the side facing the camera, and they managed to do so while lining up so that all of their heads were visible!

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Goose Bedlam

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Goose Bedlam
A large flock of geese in twilight flight above California’s Central Valley.

Goose Bedlam. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of geese in twilight flight above California’s Central Valley.

Today I’m back from what will likely be my last opportunity of the season to photograph seasonal migratory geese here in California. I know that I photographed them on about this date last year… and that about a week later (on March 13, 2020) when I went to look for them they had left. I remember that date well, as it was the last such trip I took for a long time, as California was in the process of entering a fairly hard lockdown as the trajectory of the pandemic became clearer. In any case, these geese should be heading back to the arctic for the warm month any day now.

Near the end of their California visit they seem to become increasingly active, and that was the case this week. Although they did spend time on the ground feeding or settled on ponds, they were frequently in the air. As darkness approached a huge group of them — snow, Ross’s, white-fronted, and probably other geese — was in constant motion in an area of recently cleared fields. I like to photograph them at slower shutter speeds in the twilight since it seems to me that the motion blurring effect may suggest this wild activity better than pure stop-motion.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Crane, Blue Sky

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Sandhill Crane, Blue Sky
A solitarty sandhill crane against blue California sky.

Sandhill Crane, Blue Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary sandhill crane against blue California sky.

Those who photograph birds already know this, but the truth is that one typically makes a whole lot of bad photographs of birds along the path to getting some that work. Here I’m not thinking of “could have been better” bad, but rather of “that’s awful!” bad photographs — bird half out of the frame, bird out of focus, sky blown out, underside of the bird too dark, something other than the bird in focus, utility poles or cows in the frame, the list goes on. If I go out for a day of landscape photography the number of photographs I come back with may be in the double digits. With birds, a day’s worth of shooting is almost always over 1000 images… and most are not really great.

The issues are that birds don’t stand still, they don’t always pose against perfect light, the sometimes appear so suddenly that there’s no time to carefully think about things, the light can be challenging, and much more. Often you won’t know until after you make the photograph that it didn’t work… or that it did. The idea is to practice, become more attentive, to be there… and ultimately to increase the odds that you may catch something. Cranes most often keep clear of humans. I’ve watched them head toward me only to veer off to either side. But occasionally one sticks to its path and passed almost directly overhead… and I manage to track the thing and capture it in a pleasing instant of its flight.

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.