Tag Archives: lesser

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Approaching Cranes

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Approaching Cranes
A group of sandhill cranes approaches on a winter morning along the Pacific Flyway.

Approaching Cranes. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of sandhill cranes approaches on a winter morning along the Pacific Flyway.

For the next week or so I expect to indulge my fascination with sandhill cranes as I continue to dig back into photographs from the final day photographing them during this past winter season. Of course, when I’m photographing these birds I am usually also photographing others… and photographing the landscapes in which they are found. So expect come geese and who knows what else along with some winter landscapes from the wetland and agricultural regions where I find these beautiful birds.

Quite a few of my photographs of these cranes tend to are in profile, perhaps as they line up in the wetlands in the early morning, or as they fly past me during the fly-in and fly-out times. There are several reasons for this, but one is that cranes that fly toward humans often divert at the last minute — they seem particularly wary of flying right over us. Often I have figured out the place where cranes were crossing the landscape, gone there to wait for them, and noticed them immediately readjusting their flight path to avoid the spot. This group was more cooperative than most. I stopped and waited during the morning fly-out, and eventually this group headed straight toward me in the early light before diverging at the last moment just a bit to pass on my right.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning

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Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning
A large flock of sandhill cranes in a wetland pond on a winter morning.

Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of sandhill cranes in a wetland pond on a winter morning.

The routine on this (almost certainly ) final day of migratory bird photography for this season was much as it always is, though it started at an earlier hour to accommodate the late winter sunrise. Up at three-something AM and on the road after a quick cup of coffee, I arrived here before dawn. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bit of fog in the air as I began to look for a sunrise subject, and before long I found a very large group of sandhill cranes. When everything works out just right there is a short period of beautiful, warm light as the sun comes up, especially on a morning when a bit of fog or haze softens the light.

This group of cranes was part of an extremely large group of them — perhaps as many as I’ve seen at one time. They have a routine, too. At some point around sunrise they typically begin to take to the air in small groups and fly away, and that process began soon after I started to photograph them.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light

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Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light
A group of sandhill cranes, flying in morning light above California’s Central Valley.

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of sandhill cranes, flying in morning light above California’s Central Valley.

The sandhill cranes are still my favorites among the migratory birds that I photograph every winter. They aren’t quite as abundant, as noisy, or as active as the geese, but they have other attractions. Their characteristic cry is often the first one I hear when I arrive in the field, and their morning take-off often starts my days of photography… and their twilight return concludes it. Their flight patterns are a bit more sedate than those of geese and are characterized by a slower pace of wing motion.

Photographing a group like this can be a bit challenging, and a lot of pieces have to fall into place to make it work. In my experience, flying cranes often tend to divert from their trajectory rather than fly over a photographer, often breaking to one side or the other at the last minute. They also tend to not pay a whole lot of attention to photographic considerations such as orienting themselves ideally to the sun’s light. And when groups do fly overhead they often block one another from view. This little group, however, did everything just right! The flew almost into the early morning light, diverting just enough to put a bit more light on the side facing the camera, and they managed to do so while lining up so that all of their heads were visible!

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

Flock of Cranes, Tule Fog

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Flock of Cranes, Tule Fog
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes reflected in a pond on a winter morning of tule fog.

Flock of Cranes, Tule Fog. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes reflected in a pond on a winter morning of tule fog.

This photograph comes from late last year, a few days before Christmas, when I spent a day photographing birds in the Central Valley of California. I picked a particularly lonely day — a good thing right now! — and arrived well before dawn after driving through thick tule fog. When I arrived in the first faint light I could hear birds but I certainly could not see them. I set out to see if I could find any that were close enough to be visible in the fog, and eventually I came upon a very large group of lesser sandhill cranes that had settled in and around this pond.

On most mornings the cranes tend to depart as soon as the sun rises, but perhaps the thick fog persuaded them to stick around a bit longer. In any case, although it was well after sunrise by this point, a very large group of cranes seemed to be feeding and generally milling about slowly. At one point this group seemed to adopt a common goal of walking across the scene from right to left, and I was able to photograph them lined up and facing the same direction.

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.