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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Seen Any Geese?

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Seen Any Geese?
A gigantic flock of (mostly) snow geese over a wetland pond.

Seen Any Geese?. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gigantic flock of (mostly) snow geese over a wetland pond.

That’s the question. Seen any geese? A few actually. A few thousand. Or perhaps a few ten-thousand. These are among the many birds that migrate south into the continental US in the winter — these travel from the arctic via the Pacific Flyway and then overwinter in various areas in California. I usually don’t photograph them in this sort of midday light, but I decided that I do find the overall blue-ness of this scene to be attractive.

How does a scene like this happen? Initially a large group of thousands of geese is on the ground or in a shallow pond. Not much seems to be going on until all of a sudden many or all of them suddenly take to the air with a tremendous sound of rushing wings. The instigation is not always clear, but it could be a predator flying over, and I’ve seen it happen in response to things like low-flying aircraft. After the initial take-off, the flock may wheel around in expanding circles and spread to cover the sky until they eventually find a new place to settle.

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: 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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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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Blackbirds in Winter Sky

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Blackbirds in Winter Sky
A murmuration of redwing blackbirds above winter wetlands.

Blackbirds in Winter Sky. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A murmuration of redwing blackbirds above winter wetlands.

When I got to these places in the winter to photograph birds — and to experience the wetland winter landscape — I’m usually looking for larger birds. The geese first attracted me, and then I became fascinated with cranes, herons, ibises, pelicans, and more. At first I probably more or less ignored these flocks of small back birds that seemed to be everywhere. More recently, I’ve come to look forward to seeing them.

They are blackbirds, most likely red-winged blackbirds, but also possibly tri-color blackbirds. To my eye the differences are subtle unless I get close enough to see the definite patch on the wings — red in one case, red and white in the other. (And, occasionally, apparently to confound me, I spot odd things such as yellow bands…) These are flocking birds, virtually always seen in groups, and they fly together, sometimes creating murmurations, flocks of closely-spaced birds that shift and reform in flight. Beyond their visual appearance, the sound they make seems utterly joyous, and there are few things quite like being next to a few hundred of them in full song.

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.

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

The Cranes Return, Dusk

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The Cranes Return, Dusk
As the day ends, sandhill cranes return to the wetlands.

The Cranes Return, Dusk. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

As the day ends, sandhill cranes return to the wetlands.

Sandhill cranes are often the first birds I am aware of in the early morning and the last I look for in the evening before I put my camera away. In fact, the boundary between enough and too little light often comes during their evening return, so it isn’t unusual to end the day just watching them.

I’ve never quite figured out where they go during the day, though I suppose that some investigation would turn up the answer. (In a West Coast location I once found thousands of them in a dry, barren, out-of-the way place where I was virtually alone with them.) I’ll never forget the first time I experienced their evening return. At the end of a day of photography it was becoming dark — too dark, I thought, to continue. As I was about to pack up my gear I heard a remarkable sound coming from the southeast, a sound that I didn’t understand then but which I now recognize immediately as that of the returning flocks. A few moments later hundreds (more likely thousands) of them arrived, filling the sky, and then descending to nearby ponds.

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.