Tag Archives: birds

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

Birds Before Dawn

December 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of small birds rises into pre-dawn sky about San Joaquin Valley wetlands

This was a long day with lots of driving. In the evening I would be in Oakhurst, in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite, where I planned to attend the reception for “AVIAN: Birds In A Changing Landscape,” an exhibit of art related to the lives of birds in California. (Two of my photographs are in the show, and it runs through January 14 at Gallery Five.) But before going to Oakhurst I figured I would start my day by visiting the San Joaquin Valley wetlands, the environment where the birds actually live.

After a two-hour drive I arrived a half hour or so before dawn. I grabbed a quick cup of coffee from my thermos, put the big lens on my camera, and turned my attention to the surrounding bird-filled landscape. Within moments I was stunned to see something new to me — an absolutely huge flock of very small birds rose in the distance. My best guess is that they may have been tai-color blackbirds, but the numbers were far beyond anything I had seen here before. The light was too low and they were too far away to make an effective photograph, but before long a very small fraction of the flock came across this section of the wetlands closer to my location, and I was able to photograph them against the pre-dawn sky.

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AVIAN: Birds In A Changing World

December 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two of my photographs (seen below) were selected to be part of AVIAN: Birds In A Changing World, a current exhibit featuring work by more than 40 artists — photographers, painters, sculptors, ceramicists, and much more.

“Black-necked Stilt Taking Flight” — A black-necked Stilt takes off from a California Central Valley pond

The show benefits Yosemite Audubon and Sierra Art Trails, and is now open at Gallery Five in Oakhurst, California, a Yosemite National Park gateway community. You can find out more — and see/purchase the art — at the AVIAN facebook page and you can also view a video about the show.

The show is open now and continues through January 14, 2018 at Gallery Five at Gallery Row in Oakhurst. Inquiries sales from the exhibit may be directed to the gallery by phone at 559-683-5551 or by email admin@sierraarttrails.org.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photo

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Two Cranes, Morning, Marsh

December 10, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two sandhill cranes stand in a marsh in early morning sunlight

This past Saturday was a full-on bird day for me. It started before dawn in the San Joaquin Valley, where I visited some wetlands areas to photograph various birds: cranes, geese, ibises, tri-color blackbirds, a solitary heron and a few egrets. Later that afternoon I wrapped up my bird photography and headed up to Oakhurst in the Sierra foothills to attend the opening reception for AVIAN: Birds in A Changing World at Gallery Five. The juried exhibit includes over 60 pieces by more than 40 artists, including a couple of my bird photographs. Afterwards I drove back to the Bay Area. Yes, it was a long day!

The conditions and the birds can vary a lot at this time of year in the San Joaquin Valley. Often it is foggy, but the skies were nearly clear when I arrived this time, with just a bit of scattered ground for a some haze. Two bird events were striking right after I arrived. First, a huge cloud of very small birds — perhaps tri-color blackbirds — rose before dawn and moved across the horizon. Second, a larger-than-usual number of sandhill cranes lifted off at dawn, and they followed unusual paths that brought them close to me. As the fly-out was getting underway I photographed these two cranes in the pond as the first light began to filter through the haze. They stood quietly for a few minutes, then suddenly took to the air and were gone.

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AVIAN: Birds in a Changing World

December 8, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

AVIAN: Birds in a Changing World opened this week at Gallery Five in Oakhurst, California and runs through January 14. The gala reception is this Saturday, December 9th at 4:00-8:00PM at Gallery Five — 40982 Hwy 41, Suite 5, Oakhurst.

The juried exhibition features work by more than 60 artists, and includes two of my photographs.

I’m going to make it a full “avian day” on Saturday, greeting the dawn and a few thousand of my avian friends in the Great Central Valley before heading on over to Oakhurst for the reception. Hope to see some of you there!

You can find out more at the exhibition’s Facebook page.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photogra