Category Archives: Photographs: Central California

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

Walking Cranes

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Walking Cranes
A flock of sandhill cranes crosses a rural roadway in Central Valley pasture land.

Walking Cranes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of sandhill cranes crosses a rural roadway in Central Valley pasture land.

Why did the crane cross the road? In some of my recent posts I have written about how the behavior of geese and cranes seems to change as the time for them to fly back to the north approaches. From what I have seen, the birds become increasingly active — I’m tempted to use the word “restless” to describe it. They appear in larger flocks, and they assembly in different and more predictable places. They seem to be active at all hours of the day, there are frequent “lift offs” by thousands of them, and the cranes and various kinds of geese often seem to intermix.

It also seems like they become a bit less hesitant about being where humans are. You still can’t (and should not) get too close to them, but they start to show up alongside roads and paths and in ponds very close to such places. It isn’t at all uncommon to arrive in places along gravel roads… and find that the flocks are stretched right across the roadway. I often end up stopping to wait for them to finish their business or else approaching very slowly, giving them time to slowly move out of the way. I stopped to let this group of cranes finish its activities — I was in no hurry, and it gave me a chance to photograph them.

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: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Bird-Filled Sky

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Bird-Filled Sky
A huge flock of geese wheels above a Central Valley pasture filled with sandhill cranes.

Bird-Filled Sky. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A huge flock of geese wheels above a Central Valley pasture filled with sandhill cranes.

The pattern of events at Central Valley migratory bird locations varies quite a bit over the season. Obviously, during the months when the large flocks of cranes and geese are elsewhere the places can be pretty quiet and lonely. (I’m not a giant fan of these locations during this period, but I do stop by occasionally, perhaps largely to bring back memories of the winter birds.) But when they are there, the situation can vary quite a bit. Early on it may be hard to even find the birds — they may be off in more distant areas feeding, or the fog may be so thick that they can’t easily be spotted.

Later in the season, especially during the final weeks before the geese depart, the action seems to increase. I find that the birds are often active throughout the day, and that larger and larger groups tend to collect — and quite often the star attractions, the geese and cranes, start to overlap quite a bit, sometimes sharing the same spaces on the ground and in the sky. I made this photograph on one of these late-season days, with cranes spread across the pasture and the sky filled with thousands of geese.

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

Four Cranes in Flight

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Four Cranes in Flight
Four lesser sandhill cranes in flight against blue sky.

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

Four lesser sandhill cranes in flight against blue sky.

So often photography is about composition, controlling the relationships among elements within the frame —left and right, front and back, up and down, relationships among colors and luminosity levels, lines, curves, and all the rest. This is certainly the case when photographing from the tripod, and it is usually true even when shooting with a handheld camera. Even in situations when things happen quickly, we try to maintain some awareness of how the different elements fit together.

Then some birds fly overhead against a pure blue sky… and one just makes exposures. In the midst of photographing birds in the larger landscape, I realized that I was in a spot that groups of sandhill cranes were traversing, often nearly directly overhead. To some extent you take what you get in these situations, and you don’t have any control over the relative positions of the birds. But you do have some control, at least if you have been photographing birds for a while. Rather than just blasting away in burst mode — which is sometimes the only realistic strategy — you can watch the birds, track their movements relative to one another, and increase the odds a bit by timing the exposures.

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

Migratory Birds, Wetlands Morning

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Migratory Birds, Wetlands Morning
Migratory birds in Central Valley wetlands, winter sunrise.

Migratory Birds, Wetlands Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Migratory birds in Central Valley wetlands, winter sunrise.

Although it may not be obvious in the photograph, there are so many “things going on” in this scene that one could perhaps almost write a short book about it. The primary subject is likely obvious — a large flock of sandhill cranes is standing in and and along the edge of a shallow wetland pond in California’s Central Valley on a late-winter morning when the birds are perhaps only days away from their annual migration to the north. But a closer look reveals other things and leads in more directions.

The cranes are not the only birds in the scene. A thin white line in the distance is a flock of probably several thousand geese, mostly snow geese but probably also at least some smaller Ross’s geese. Other geese are in the air, and judging from their darker color they are probably white-fronted geese. It is a bit hazy — typical winter conditions in this location — with a few high clouds above. Along the horizon is the soft, early-morning silhouette of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. And a closer look at the scene reveals that this is agricultural country, perhaps the most common sort in this great valley.

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.