Tag Archives: bird

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

Great Blue Heron

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Great Blue Heron
A great blue heron stands next to a Sacramento Valley pond

Great Blue Heron. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A great blue heron stands next to a Sacramento Valley pond

As I prepare photographs to share via social media (in my continuing photo-a-day marathon, now perhaps the years old) I often have photographs lined up for posting days or weeks in the future. Occasionally one sits here on the computer for a long time before I finally share it. This photograph of a great blue heron is such a photograph — I made it almost four months ago, way back when we were in the middle of winter!

This past winter I decided to expand the range of my bird photography a bit. I’ve been photographing winter birds in Central California for the past few years, but mostly in a range from roughly Sacramento south. So it was time to connect a few dots on the map and travel out of that area a bit. One of the first extended visits took me a good distance up the Sacramento Valley on a cold winter day when snow topped the mountains to both the east and west. This specimen was hanging out along an irrigation ditch near the edge of a wildlife refuge, and it allowed me to get relatively close (“hidden” inside a vehicle) without taking flight.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Lesser Sandhill Crane

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Lesser Sandhill Crane
A lesser sandhill crane in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Lesser Sandhill Crane. Central Valley, California. February 26, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lesser sandhill crane in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

These beautiful birds have a big place among the Central Valley migratory birds. Although they appear in smaller numbers than the geese, at times you may see hundreds or thousands of them in one place at various locations up and down the valley. They have a striking cry that is instantly recognizable and very different from that of other Central Valley birds. With their size, their slower wing flapping, frequent coasting, and level flight from place to place they are also easy to recognize when they are airborne.

Tracking individual birds with a camera and long lens is a challenge, especially when the bird gets close enough to become large in the frame. (It takes practice to track them. The ideal is to eventually become quick and smooth, and to remain aware enough to think about the bird’s wing and head position and even about what it in the background.) On the day when I made this photograph there were many, many cranes about. I managed to position myself between two groups, and I waited there quietly for cranes to fly across my position.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Snow Goose

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Snow Goose
A solitary snow goose in flight against winter blue sky

Snow Goose. Central Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary snow goose in flight against winter blue sky

There are two common types of white geese in California, the Ross’s goose and the snow goose. Although one or the other may be more predominant in a give location, they often are found together and it can be a bit tricky to tell them apart at first. Size is one hint — the snow goose is a bit larger, and after a while this seemingly subtle difference becomes more obvious. The two birds also have differently shaped bills that are different sizes. Also on the bill is another hint — the snow goose bill has a characteristic “grin” pattern on its sides. A friend tells me that he can identify the difference by sound, too, though I can’t do that consistently at this point.

When first visiting the Central Valley bird locations, the sight of sometimes-huge flocks of white geese makes a strong impression. I can report that it continues to make an impression many visits later, especially when combined with the cacophony of thousands of the birds or the wild group take-offs that occur when they are spooked by predators or other triggers.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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

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Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark perched in San Joaquin Valley branches

Western Meadowlark. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 15, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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