Feeding Black-Necked Stilt. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A black-necked stilt feeding in a season wetland pond.

The black-necked stilt is a fascinating bird, even to someone like me whose knowledge of birds is somewhat limited. (I know a lot by osmosis and observation, but not much at all from formal learning.) I often seen them along the margins of wetland ponds, where the water is just about the right depth for their long legs. Sometimes I see one of them alone, but more often they are in small, loose group. They seem to spend a lot of time foraging, and much less flying about — though every so often they will quickly take off.

They are an interesting combination of gangly awkwardness and sleek beauty. Those long legs can almost give them a comic appearance at times, but they also allow them to wander about in water that is several inches deep. Their coloration is simple but striking — white on the bottom and black on top — and their round heads hold long narrow beaks. When you observe them you are bound to see them do some odd things with their legs — sometimes moving them with great deliberation, occasionally holding delicately balanced poses, sometimes bending awkwardly.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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

Four Sandhilll Cranes Taking Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four sandhill cranes take to the air above California Central Valley fields.

Some folks are perpetual bird photographers, but I (mostly) photograph them on a seasonal basis. My serious interest began with migratory geese coming to California along the Pacific Flyway, and I got in the habit of heading into the field during their season. Along the way my interest expanded to include other birds I saw on my excursions: sandhill cranes, white pelicans, ibises, various herons, egrets, the occasional eagle, hawks, and more. Each year, about half way into the fall season, my attention turns back to the birds. I made this photograph back in early November on an early foray out into California’s Central Valley.

Sandhill cranes are marvelous birds in many ways. They flock but typically in much smaller groups than geese, so it is much more possible to photograph individual animals. (They do collect in larger numbers at times, too.) They are fairly large birds, and when they take to the air there is an initial interval when they can appear a bit awkward. They get a bit of forward motion, launch themselves upwards, and flap strongly to get altitude. In this photograph the four birds are nearly, but not quite, past that point in the take-off, and there is still a bit of what seems like flailing going on.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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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.

Morning Trio. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three sandhill cranes raise their beaks to the morning sun.

Sandhill Cranes are, I think, becoming my new “favorite California bird.” I’ve gone through phases. Many, many years ago I read Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac,” and his description of these birds — which I had never seen — made an impression. I had no idea that they were found here in California, so I didn’t think much more about them for years. There was a period when egrets (“great” and “snowy”) were the birds I most admired, then at times I focused on a few Sierra birds, including Muir’s ouzels. Not that long ago I “discovered” another bird that had been here all along when I started photographing winter migratory geese in California. That experience led me back to sandhill cranes. One of the most magical bird-related experiences I can recall was on one of those goose photography trips. At the end of the day as night fell and photography was coming to a conclusion we heard their sound coming from the southeast as twilight fell… and then huge flocks of them appeared overhead, turned and descended into the wetlands.

The experience of photographing these three birds was perhaps not so miraculous as that earlier event. I had gone to the Central Valley for something else, but since I realized I could arrive early enough to photograph birds at dawn I brought along my photography equipment. After doing some first-light photography at a spot where finding the birds was, well, a no-brainer… I decided to explore a bit and see if I could find them in more isolated locations. I found a small group of sandhill cranes in a muddy field that was partially shielded from a nearby roadway by tall brush. I stopped, stood behind my car to avoid scaring the birds, put on a long lens, and watched. They were engaged in a number of ritual behaviors, including the well-known “dancing” activity associated in most cases with mating. I’m unfamiliar with the striking behavior in this photograph or its meaning, a ritual in which groups of birds lean their heads back and in unison open their beaks.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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.

Three Cranes, Blue Sky. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three sandhill cranes in flight against blue sky.

What I regard as “bird season,”the time of year when I start to focus on photographing migratory birds, began this year in early November. I had several prints in the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival, so I took the opportunity to head that direction and look for birds to photograph during the weekend of the event.

On my way to drop of prints very early on the first morning of the festival I headed out early enough to reserve time for a visit to an area west of Lodi where these birds are fairly easy to find. Pulling in from a long drive in the dark, opening the car door, and hearing the bedlam of thousands of birds is always a magical moment for me, and this one was more special as it was the first of the year. I made a few photographs in this area at dawn and then moved off on a rural road that I know, looking for more cranes. Eventually I found them, in a place where they were following a flight path that took them across the roadway, so I found a spot where the early morning light would catch them as they flew past.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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.