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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

Shall We Dance? © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two sandhill cranes begin their dance ritual.

From what I’ve read and observed, the striking “dancing” behavior of sandhill cranes is often (but not necessarily always?) part of a mating ritual. If you watch a large flock of the birds — or are lucky when viewing a smaller group, as I was here — you will quickly spot this behavior as it stands out from the other, largely passive behavior of the birds. (They mostly appear to either stand there, eat, or walk slowly.) A couple of birds approach one another, wings open up, and they hop straight up into the air.

When I photographed this group I was near a well-known crane observation location in California’s Central Valley. (Some of those are fine places to see these magnificent birds, especially if they are new to you.) However, I had moved away from that spot and was out looking for birds elsewhere when I came upon a group that was standing in the remnants of a field whose crops had been knocked down. I stopped, stood behind my car so as to be less likely to disturb the birds, and began watching and photographing.

---

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.

---

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