Tag Archives: geese

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Geese in Flight

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Two Geese in Flight
A pair of snow geese in flight just above the ground.

Two Geese in Flight. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pair of snow geese in flight just above the ground.

Snow geese and other types of geese can sometimes seem graceful, but they can also manage to put themselves into some quite awkward and even odd positions at times. This is often true then they are taking off or landing — perhaps less so when you look at them with your own eyes and more so when the camera halts the motion. The acts of landing and taking off require some brief and extraordinary efforts — especially the landings when the birds need to find a clear spot in the flock, slow their flight, and finally descend almost vertically with feet extended and nicks craned.

Frequently, photographs of creatures like these come from times of day with especially beautiful light and/or atmosphere — perhaps in fog or during the morning and evening golden hours. This is partly due to the appeal of those conditions but it is also because the birds tend to do more interesting things at the edges of the day. But in February, at least where I photograph them, the birds begin to be much more active and there may be no lull in the middle of the day.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

White Pelicans and Geese

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White Pelicans and Geese
White pelicans and geese in the winter landscape of California’s Central Valley.

White Pelicans and Geese. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

White pelicans and geese in the winter landscape of California’s Central Valley.

This flock of white pelicans almost seems like family now — since the beginning of this season they have been hanging out in almost this exact spot every time I have visited. It used to be that I’d catch them in flight in the morning, but more recently they seem to stay right there almost the entire day. While the opportunities to photograph them flying over my position have been limited, this spot is close enough that I can photograph them on the ground… or, more accurately, on the muddy spot where they hang out in the middle of this pond.

The more distant birds are geese, almost certainly snow geese, though it is a bit difficult to make a 100% certain identification from this distance. Large groups of them were on the ground beyond the middle distance levee, and they were periodically taking off or being joined by new arrivals on this mostly-sunny 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Geese in Flight, Winter Sky

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A flock of snow geese in flight against a winter dusk sky, California Central Valley.

Geese in Flight, Winter Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of snow geese in flight against a winter dusk sky, California Central Valley.

February seems to be the time of year when California’ over-wintering migratory birds become restless. Earlier in the season they often seem somewhat inactive and may be difficult to locate, but on February days, at least in my experience, they are more active throughout the day and are present in much greater numbers . I estimate that at one point I saw perhaps multiple tens of thousands of geese on one large system of ponds.. By evening they were everywhere, and the sound was simply astonishing.

I’ve written that my ideal winter bird photography weather calls for tule fog in the morning and hazy sky during the rest of the day. This was not that kind of day. The sun rose in clear air, and hardly any clouds appeared in the blue sky, aside from a few low clouds far to the east along the line Sierra Nevada. (At times, snow-covered peaks were visible above the clouds.) Just after sunset the sky turned pink above the blue-gray of the earth’s shadow, and this huge flock of (mostly) snow geese wheeled wildly in front of the pink-gray boundary.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Autumn Sky

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Geese, Autumn Sky
Geese return to Central Valley wetlands under dramatic autumn sky.

Geese, Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Geese return to Central Valley wetlands under dramatic autumn sky.

This has been a strange autumn in California in a host of ways. The state has been contending with the effects of warmer and drier conditions and declining precipitation for at least a decade now, and late-autumn is now part of the wildfire season, a time that used to terminate with the first late-October rains. In my part of California, where the rains usually get going in November and December is one of the three core rainy months., we have had almost no precipitation at all. You’ll pardon us if we spend a lot of time watching the sky and hoping for real weather to arrive.

A week ago I spent some time in the Great Central Valley making photographs. I had been putting off my visits because I prefer “interesting weather,” and there really wasn’t any. I finally went there because there was the tiniest chance of a little bit of fog and because, well, it looked like that would be the best we’d see for a while. The morning was nice — the true fog did not materials, but there was a beautiful softness in the atmosphere anyway. But late in the day it just became… gray… as a cloud shield from a weather front came in from the west. I almost left, and I had actually mostly packed up, when I decided that I might as well stick around a bit longer since I was there. It turned out to be the right decision. One development was something familiar to me from past evenings — as the light moved to the west the hazy atmosphere became more transparent and, like a stage scene illuminated behind a scrim, the shapes of the western clouds became clearer as geese arrived to settle into a nearby pond.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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