Category Archives: Photographs: Wildlife

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

Joining the Flock

March 5, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese descend through tule fog to join the flock

The drive to this location in mid-February was, in many ways, very typical. We were up before 4:00 am and quickly on the road in the darkness. An hour and a half later we turned on to the rural roads, and the first predawn color was coming to the sky — and, yes, it was still fairly clear. Soon, however, we began to drive through fog banks so thick that we had to slow, with visibility measured in feet. What had been a highway-speed drive quickly changed to a 15mph crawl as we watched intently for obstacles or other vehicles.

We arrived at our destination, still in very thick tule fog, and got out to get organized for photography. As we drove a gravel road around the area we occasionally caught glimpses of small birds near the route, but the only evidence of larger birds was their distant cries. Eventually we arrived at a spot where we could hear more birds, and occasionally a few would fly close enough that we could see them momentarily. But they remained out of sight as we waited. Eventually a slight breeze began to shift the fog a bit and the flock became barely visible, though light from the rising sun produced a luminous glow. These five Ross’ geese dropped through the fog toward the flock below, with shapes that might make one think of angel wings.

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

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight

March 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight A pair of lesser sandhill cranes in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

A pair of lesser sandhill cranes in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Near the end of the winter migratory bird season in the San Joaquin Valley, where we photograph these birds all winter, the birds seem to collect in ever larger number and become more and more active, especially by this late-February period. On this morning visit to a favorite bird photography destination we found tens of thousands of Ross’ geese, along with many white-fronted geese and others, plus huge groups of lesser sandhill cranes. They became active shortly before dawn and didn’t stop until we departed hours later.

I have photographed the sandhill cranes here on many previous occasions, but this turned out to be one of my best opportunities yet to photograph them in the air. Large flocks were on the ground on both sides of the gravel road on which we were driving, and if we stopped in the right spots they would fly almost directly overhead and they moved from spot to spot. These are beautiful birds, graceful in their gliding flight with striking red patches on their heads, and an instantly recognizable cry.

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

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

Western Meadowlark

February 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Western Meadowlark perched in San Joaquin Valley branches

I’m going to indulge my bird photograph collection interest and share what is really just a photograph of another little bird! This beautiful little bird was a side attraction I found during a recent visit to the California Central Valley to mainly photograph geese and cranes, plus the odd heron and egret.

Photographing the larger birds is an experience that often vacillates between moments of wildly photographing as birds fly above, or as huge flocks take to the sky, and then long periods of not doing much at all — waiting for birds, trying to figure out where the birds are, moving to another location to find birds, and so forth. But I’ve found that when I keep my eyes open I find interesting things that aren’t what I was initially looking for. That was the case with this yellow western meadowlark, which was standing in some brush alongside a perimeter road at a wildlife refuge and which I just happened to spot while passing by.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle

February 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A bald eagle perches in a tree.

I rarely see bald eagles in my home territory in the San Francisco Bay Area, so seeing them when I travel is a special treat. This area of the Klamath Basin that I visited in mid-February is known for them — in fact there is one refuge in the area that is off-limits to humans, specifically so that these magnificent birds can flourish without being disturbed. As I was out in a refuge on afternoon and driving along a levee I spotted a group of people stopped ahead. I slowed down and approached slowly, not wanting to disturb whatever they say, and I soon saw the very big eagles nest up in one of the trees. Soon I saw that there were two eagles in the tree, and I made some initial photographs.

I returned to the area again the next evening, this time with a better organized plan. Sure enough, both eagles were again out and about in the are of their nest, alternating between perching in the nest and heading out to hunt. At one point this eagle returned from a hunt, but instead of going to the nest and sharing its prize, the bird perched on a branch a few hundred feet from where its partner was in the next and it proceeded to feast on something it had caught. This provided an excellent opportunity to get a relatively close (with a long telephoto) and unobstructed view of the bird. After eating, the eagle tore some trigs and small branches from the tree and flew off to carry them back to the nest — as if to say, “Sorry, no food. But I did bring something nice for the house.”

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Wildlife

Joining the Flock

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight

Western Meadowlark

Bald Eagle

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