Tag Archives: harvested

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Cranes, Fog

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Two Cranes, Fog
Two sandhill cranes on a foggy winter morning in a Central Valley field.

Two Cranes, Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two sandhill cranes on a foggy winter morning in a Central Valley field.

Sandhill cranes have become my favorite migratory birds in California’s Central Valley and other locations in the state. Each year they arrive in the early fall and then depart around the time spring arrives. They are very large birds, and while their numbers don’t compete with those of some of the biggest geese flocks, they sometimes assemble in large groups.

I photographed this pair close to the end of the season, on a morning when surprising fog swept in after sunrise, muting the details of the landscape and softening the light. They were in a field where corn had been knocked down to provide them with food.

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

Lesser Sandhill Cranes

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Lesser Sandhill Cranes
Two lesser sandhill cranes standing in a Central Vally field.

Lesser Sandhill Cranes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two lesser sandhill cranes standing in a Central Vally field.

After photographing these creatures for years, I still learn new things about them. I’ve had a general idea about their migration patterns, but I recently learned that they likely migrate over 2000 miles to the Bristol Bay area. This location has been in the news, since there has been a controversial mining proposal for Bristol Bay. From what I understand, the cranes are due to depart at any time now, and that they’ll return about six months later.

These two were part of a large flock that was feeding in an agricultural area where corn stalks had been intentionally knocked down, with the corn still on them, to provide feed for the birds. Another new fact that I had not known: sandhill cranes have largely adapted to living in landscapes altered by agriculture, and for the most part seem to be successful.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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