Tag Archives: geese

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

Geese, Dusk, Pond, and Tree

January 12, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese take off over pond and tree at dusk

This day in the wetlands was something of a surprise. When I arrived before dawn, the light was dreary, with a shield of clouds from a passing cold front hiding the sky and the sun, with the exception of a very narrow band along part of the eastern horizon. There was little photograph in this light, but before long the sun rose though that gap and provided perhaps ten minutes of beautiful light… and then that show was over and the flat light returned. All morning long it remained cloudy, though that band of open sky in the east gradually expanded and worked its way toward my position.

Just past midday I finally took a break and left to grab a bite to eat. An hour later I was back, and now the clouds above this area were breaking up and the light was starting to be interesting. By evening most of the sky was clear, though the air remained hazy — not unusual for this part of the world in winter. I looked around for the birds that I wanted to photograph, but wasn’t finding any large flocks. Finally I made it back to where I started… just as geese began to fly out from their resting place in nearby ponds. I put a long lens on the camera and continued photographing well past sunset, as the sky darkened and waves of birds continued to fly away. In the end, this day was a reminder that sometimes finding beautiful conditions requires facing some less exciting light… and being persistent and patient.

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

Departure

January 9, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Waves of geese lift off into foggy early morning winter sky

There are many ways in which geese may depart, and almost any time I watch them I think about when and how they will leave. They might leave one or two at a time, perhaps circling around and returning, or possibly simply flying a short distance to a more interesting spot nearby. They might begin a mass departure by leaving in small groups of perhaps a half-dozen or a few more. The geese in this photograph were leaving in what might be described as waves — groups of perhaps a dozen or two lifting off at once and forming into lines as they headed to the north. There is also that most spectacular event, when many thousands of them erupt into the air simultaneously, with a shocking sound of thousands of wings along with their cries.

On this winter morning we arrived before dawn, as always, and watched as ground fog formed over the wetlands. We did not find the spectacularly large flocks that we sometimes see but there were groups still settled into ponds. As the first light arrived they began to fly away, first a few, then larger groups, until very soon all of them had left.

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

On Alert

January 7, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of geese raises their heads in response to a distraction

We started 2018 with a New Year’s Day visit to wetlands to photograph migratory birds and engage in a few other fun activities. Among these were: arising hours before dawn, driving long distances in pre-dawn darkness, sharing a champagne toast to the New Year well before noon, and much more. To be honest, I’ve had been photography days out there at this time of year… but I haven’t had a better time.

This photograph shows a behavior that I’ve learned to watch for when photographing geese. Much of the time when they are settled in they are fairly passive, perhaps with their heads down to feed. But when anything worthy of attention happens — a raptor flies over, a plane passes by too low, someone gets too close or starts a vehicle engine — the flock’s sound changes and all of the heads rise with necks vertical. If the threat passes or is deemed unimportant the heads quickly drop. But if it is seen as serious, this might be an indication that the entire flock is about to dramatically take flight.

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

Geese, Tule Fog, Autumn Trees

December 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Migratory snow geese and Ross’s geese in a pond on a foggy San Joaquin Valley morning

Since it was December 1, it seemed like time to start my annual series of visits to California’s Great Central Valley to photograph migratory birds and the landscape of the place. (Actually, I had made one preliminary and very quick visit about a month earlier, but too early for the birds shown in this photograph.) There is a ritual about these visits which, for me, are typically one-day affairs that start very early and end rather late, with a fair amount of driving involved. Up well before dawn, I drive a couple of hours in darkness and often fog, arriving perhaps a half hour before dawn to the stirring sound of many thousands of birds, already awake at morning twilight. I photograph intensively for at least a few hours before taking, at last on most days, a midday break. By mid-afternoon I’m back at work again, photographing through the peak of the visual crescendo just before sunset and then continuing for perhaps another half hour or so until the light is gone. I pack, get into my vehicle, and retrace my two-hour drive back home. (At least the shorter daylight hours of this season allow me to get up a little bit “later” — if you consider 3:45 or 4:00 AM later — and return home in time for a late dinner.)

On this first day of December it was incredibly foggy when I arrived — so much so that it was really hard to make photographs. I usually enjoy photographing in the fog, but this was so thick that almost no sunrise light managed to color the gloom. But before long the light began to come through the fog and eventually I found a moderately large group of white geese settled in on a pond. Among them I saw Ross’s and snow geese, and beyond them there were trees with fall foliage.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: geese

Geese, Dusk, Pond, and Tree

Departure

On Alert

Geese, Tule Fog, Autumn Trees

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