Tag Archives: colusa

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

Wetlands, Morning Fog

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Wetlands, Morning Fog
Morning fog clears from Sacramento Valley wetlands on a winter morning

Wetlands, Morning Fog. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog clears from Sacramento Valley wetlands on a winter morning

I love these winter mornings out in California’s Great Central Valley — cold, damp, perhaps foggy or perhaps clear, with the sights and sounds of migratory birds all around. This was my first visit to this wildlife refuge up in the Sacramento Valley, and I was in exploration mode on this visit, trying to get my bearings and begin to understand the rhythms of the place. It was a mostly clear morning, with high clouds from Pacific Ocean weather above and pockets of tule fog below.

It is easy to imagine that the wildlife refuges are wild places, someone along the lines of small wilderness areas. But the truth is more complex, at least at the refuges I’m familiar with. They are actually managed landscapes, with water levels carefully controlled to support various kinds of wildlife and even the growth of plants managed for their benefit. Those beautiful foreground curves of stubble in the water are the result of management — over the course of the season such grassy areas are cut down to ensure an optimum balance of open water and tall grasses. Beyond the water lies another peninsula lined with trees, with fog beyond and that winter sky high above it all.

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

Geese at First Light

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Geese at First Light
A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

Geese at First Light. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

I’ll begin by briefly repeating the background of my visit to this place. Last winter, after several years of photographing migratory birds enthusiastically at some wonderful and familiar locations, I decided it was time to expand my horizons a bit. I set out to explore a few other new (to me) places where the birds can be found, mostly further north in California that I typically go to photograph this subject. These trips eventually took me all the way up to the far northeast corner of the state and even into Oregon, but the first excursion was to some areas in the Sacramento Valley.

I had read about this area and passed by it many times, including once or twice during the “bird season.” Shortly after New Years Day I decided to make a visit focused on photographing birds — and, as is my habit, the landscapes they inhabit. Many hours before dawn I set out on the long, dark drive to the north. I arrived at this place moments before sunrise and had to work quickly on pure instinct to find photographs in this unfamiliar landscape. I quickly discovered areas where there were birds, including this flock of geese taking to the air in the first sunlight of the morning.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley

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Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley
Winter clouds at dawn above the Sacramento Valley

Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley. Great Central Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter clouds at dawn above the Sacramento Valley

Today it is close to the end of June, the start of the hot season in California, and it has been nearly 100 degrees where I live and hotter than that where I made this photograph. It is, at it is every year, hard to believe that it was only months ago that I was out in this spot on a freezing January morning, with snow-covered peaks to my east and west, watching the first dawn light on these spectacular clouds and listening to the sounds of early morning flights of migratory birds across the wetlands.

For this I will get up at 3:00 am and drive three hours in the pre-dawn darkness. I had not visited this location before, and as I turned off of Interstate 5, the main artery up this valley, and headed east on a two-lane road I wasn’t sure what I would find. The sky was beginning to glow and it seemed that sunrise was coming soon — perhaps too soon for my arrival. I turned off onto a gravel road and headed into this refuge, passing the entrance and heading out onto the perimeter road just in time for this astonishing morning light show.

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+ | 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: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Snowy Egret

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Snowy Egret
Snowy egret stands at rest

Snowy Egret. Sacrament Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snowy egret stands at rest

I recently posted a photograph of a great egret, probably the most striking are recognizable of the egrets found in the parts of California where I photograph. That bird is found in field, creek beds, along lakes and rivers, and even in Pacific Ocean kelp beds. But it isn’t the only kind of egret found in the state. Two others are the snowy egret (seen here) and the small cattle egret. All of them often are found alone, though occasionally in small groups, and all may fly off with the least provocation if you get too close.

This snowy egret seemed to be in a rather inactive mood as I came upon it while driving around the perimeter of a wildlife refuge. Those who aren’t familiar with the California refuges and their regulations might wonder why one would drive rather than walk, but it turns out that this is the rule in most areas of the refuges. One is supposed to stay mostly inside a vehicle and make photographs from the “mobile blind” of the vehicle, supposedly since this is less stressful for the birds. So I stopped the vehicle and then very slowly moved forward a bit at a time, first to get close enough for an initial photograph and then to work my way closer for an even better image. Much to my surprise, this specimen didn’t budge at all, and I was able to stop quite close and make frame-filling photographs.

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.