Category Archives: Photographs: Flight

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

White-Fronted Geese in Flight

August 9, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Four white-fronted geese in flight about California’s San Joaquin Valley

I do have to confess that one reason for sharing this photograph is that I don’t believe I have previously posted photos of white-fronted geese. This is an oversight and a bit strange, since they are very common in many of the place where I photograph winter migratory birds. I suppose that my main excuse is that the white Ross’s and snow geese tend to attract my attention a bit more, with their very visible white coloration and habit of appearing in very large flocks.

I’ve written before that I do not regard myself as remotely close to being any sort of bird expert. In line with my typical difficulty remembering the accurate names of trees and flowers — I can describe them, tell you where to find them, and when they will appear… but often not name them — it is a challenge for me to identify birds accurately. I’ve learned a few tricks, especially with geese, but I’m still more likely to shout, “look at the dark-colored ones” than “look at the white-fronted geese!” Fortunately, there is the internet. And, even better, I have friends who know the birds very well, and I photograph in their company quite often. One swears that he can tell by the sound whether the geese are Ross’s or snow varieties. I’m impressed!

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-tailed Hawk

August 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A red-tailed hawk sits in the branches of a tree above a San Joaquin Valley marsh

While photographing migratory birds in the San Joaquin Valley, I often see these raptors. Occasionally they will fly overhead, sometimes disturbing the flocks of winter migratory geese and setting off quite a commotion among the flock. More often I see them perched in trees, seemingly doing nothing at all, but perhaps actually watching for prey from their high perches.

I have never had a good, close, and clear view of one in the wild, despite running into them regularly. Those in flight are often not only in motion but also too far away to see details or to capture an effective photograph. Many other times when I’ve seen them in trees they have also been too far off, or else they were perched where the branches hid the details of their form. This specimen was a bit more cooperative, perching on a tree alongside a levee road as I drove by, and then remaining there patiently as I quietly exited my car and made a few photographs.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Departing Cranes

August 2, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A row of sandhill cranes takes to the air and flies toward Ross’s Geese above the San Joaquin Valley

This group of sandhill cranes was part of a much larger group that I had been photographing for some time on this winter day. A very large flock of them had settled in on a shallow pond and nearby field, much closer than usual to the spot from which I was watching them. They stood around as a group, with some smaller sub-groups occasionally breaking off to wander around a bit, and I watched them and made photographs as they assembled themselves in various configurations against backgrounds of water, pasture, trees, and sky.

Then they began to leave. Without any warning that I could perceive, small groups of a half-dozen or so would suddenly lift into the air and head off purposefully while those left behind seemed unaffected by their departure. A few minutes later another group would repeat the process. Eventually there were only a few left and I moved to where I could photograph them. A few more take-offs and this was the only group remaining, and when it left I quickly made a photograph of this line of cranes heading away toward evening sky, trees, and a large flock of Ross’s geese.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Brown Pelicans, Fog, Water

July 20, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A large flock of brown pelicans flies above the Pacific Ocean on a foggy summer morning

I have a thing about pelicans. They seem to me to stand apart from other birds along the California coast, most often coasting sedately on the wind, either high above as they pass along and above coastal cliffs or else down so close to the water that it seems like they will touch it. I have learned to watch for them, and I know of some places where it is likely that I’ll be able to see them close up, often by going to places high along cliff-top bluffs along which they frequently fly.

This large group completely surprised me — they came out of the blue, and I had not even been thinking about pelicans as I finished photographing a landscape scene from the tripod. I was just about as unprepared as possible for photographing birds in flight. Everything on the camera was set to manual — focus, shutter speed, aperture — and the camera had been in live view mode and on a low ISO. I was at the back of my car removing the camera from the tripod to put it away and probably was in the middle of collapsing the tripod legs when I looked up and saw a huge flock of pelicans just above the roadway to my south. I knew I had just seconds to reconfigure the camera before they arrived at my position — at least I had a long lens attached already! — so I did what I often do in these cases. I ignored the birds as I instinctively went through a bird photography set-up routine as quickly as I could: auto-focus on, stabilization on, camera in aperture priority mode (that’s a long story), ISO jacked up to 800. The only thing I forgot was shifting into burst mode, but that isn’t totally necessary. Finishing this quick sequence, I looked up to find the birds just about at my position, raised the camera, quickly tried to frame the birds against the background of the foggy Pacific, and made a few quick exposures before they moved out of range and faded into the fog.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Flight

White-Fronted Geese in Flight

Red-tailed Hawk

Departing Cranes

Brown Pelicans, Fog, Water

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.