Tag Archives: flock

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

Tundra Swans, Mountains, and Snow

February 18, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tundra swans fly past snow-covered and cloud shrouded mountains, Klamath Basin

In mid-February I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Klamath Basin, a place I’ve only visited once before, and that on a pass-through to somewhere else. From that earlier visit I recall passing by Upper Klamath Lake, which I had not really known much about, and being surprised by its size and by the obvious potential for wildlife. Years passed and I occasionally thought about the place, but it wasn’t until this year that I finally made it back for a longer visit as part of my project to expand my knowledge of west coast winter migratory bird areas.

This photograph comes from my final morning in the area. I had actually packed up the vehicle and had driven out of Klamath Falls, Oregon to start my long drive home. It was a beautiful misty, rainy, cloudy morning, and as I drove along I came to a quiet lake at which the sun was just breaking through the clouds, so I stopped. Realizing that I was at the far end of a road past the Lower Klamath area (right below the California-Oregon border) I decided to head east. I soon found myself back at a wildlife area where I had spent time photographing over the past few days, mostly focusing on the passing flights of tundra swans. I saw the swans were in the air again, so I left the main road and found a spot out in the wetlands with an expansive view and, among other things, waited for the long strings of birds to pass in front of the winter landscape.

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

Flock of Tundra Swans

February 14, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of tundra swans aloft in evening light about the Klamath Basin

More tundra swans — and I’m not finished yet! I don’t get to see these birds all that often at my usual Central California wildlife photography locations, so finding quite large numbers up here along the California-Oregon border has been pretty exciting. It turns out that while I was here a bit too early for the massive migration of some birds (I hear the geese will be back here in a couple of weeks) I seem to have arrived at just about the right moment for the tundra swans.

This day turned out to be the best for photographing these birds. Early in the morning I happened on a pair of ponds lining a short roadway, and both ponds held good size flocks. The morning light wasn’t quite right so I moved on and photographed other things, but in the evening I was back. During the final half hour or so before sunset, flocks of these birds began to stream back from the south, and I quickly headed back to this pond where I had seen them earlier, figuring that some of them might land here. I was not disappointed! And the light was spectacular, starting out as typical warm-colored late day light against blue toned sky and clouds, and then later lighting up with a brilliant colored sunset.

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

Goose-Filled Sky, Dusk

February 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Thousands of Ross’s geese fill the dusk sky above California’s San Joaquin Valley

The light and the photographic subjects pass through a series of stages at the end of the day in these wetlands areas. The nondescript late afternoon light takes on a warmer tone as the sun drops toward the horizon and shadows lengthen, and often clouds in the distant west may momentarily mute the light. There is still plenty of light for traditional bird photography, as the direct sunlight has not yet disappeared. Before long comes the last bit of direct sun, golden in color on the bodies of white geese, and then it is twilight.

At this transitional moment all sort of light magic can happen. As flocks of birds wheel around in the night sky they take on different colors — the gold of reflected sunset, the blue of the eastern sky that is transitioning towards night, and sometimes they simply are black against the sky. And the sky shifts colors, too. Sometimes the effect is wild and gaudy, but more often it is subtle, with tones of pink and blue and purple and more. By the time I made this photograph the light was becoming quite dim, and it was dark enough that I could no longer maintain a shutter speed that would stop the motion of the birds. So I no longer tried! I use a longer shutter speed and pan, watching for the flocks to compose themselves in interesting ways, always in constant motion, and against the colors of the evening sky.

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

Snow Geese in Flight

January 17, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of snow geese takes to the air above the Sacramento Valley

Occasionally during idle moments out photographing birds, when not much else is on my mind, I try to imagine what it might be like to be one of them, to live their very different lives, especially among the migratory flocking birds like geese. (Yes, I recognize that much of their lives would seem very, very unromantic and even brutal.) One of the most difficult and interesting things to try to imagine, given that it is so far out of our own experience, is what it might be like to be airborne among so many other birds.

One of the special moments that comes when photographing the migratory geese is when something triggers them to all take to the air at once in huge groups that may number in the thousands — maelstroms of wings and sound and flight. When this happens we often simply point our cameras in that direction and begin photographing almost mindlessly. (In the best circumstances, it isn’t quite so mindless, and we pay attention to things like the background landscape and the light as this happens.) Often these lift-offs happen at a distance, but when it is closer the effect is even wilder. On this morning I was fortunate to have a viewing position that was very close to the place where the birds had settled in, and when the inevitable wild liftoff came, it was about as close as I have experienced, and I was able to photograph straight through the rising flock, from very close birds to those already farther up in the air.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: flock

Tundra Swans, Mountains, and Snow

Flock of Tundra Swans

Goose-Filled Sky, Dusk

Snow Geese in Flight

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