Tag Archives: lesser

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

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight

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Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes takes to the air in early morning light.

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes takes to the air in early morning light.

It was late February when I made this visit to Central Valley wetlands to photograph migratory birds, mainly geese and sandhill cranes. From what I can tell, they tend to depart for their northern homes in early to mid-March, so I planned to squeeze a couple more visits while they were still here for their winter stay. That’s not the only reason, though, for visiting them at this point in the season. It also seems to be the time when they are the most lively, and most likely to be found in large groups that often remain quite active all day long.

As per my usual plan, I arrived a half hour before dawn and set up my camera equipment in the near darkness. Then I headed out into the surrounding wetland terrain, looking for subjects that might work in the first light of sunrise. I soon found groups of sandhill cranes standing in shallow water. Although it wasn’t in the forecast, there was a bit of low tule fog, just enough to soften the light a bit. As the cranes began to fly out from the pond they rose into the reddish first light of sunrise.

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

Cranes, Dawn Light

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Cranes, Dawn Light
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in dawn light, reflected in a wetland pool on a late-winter morning.

Cranes, Dawn Light. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in dawn light, reflected in a wetland pool on a late-winter morning.

By the time most of you see this photograph, there is a very good chance that these birds will have departed for the season. Every autumn, all sorts of wonderful migratory birds arrive in California from points north. Among my favorites are the geese, especially Ross’s and snow geese, and the sandhill cranes. They come to many places around the state, in particular in locations in California’s Great Central Valley. But, like typical tourists, they don’t stay all year, and before spring arrives they depart for locations as distant as the arctic shoreline.

I photographed these cranes on a late-February morning just as the first sunlight arrived. The sky was still red with dawn light, and for a few moments that color infused the entire landscape. A bit of valley fog softened the light just a bit. The birds stood in the shallow wetland pond for a bit and soon began flying out in small groups.

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

Departure

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Departure
Sandhill cranes take to the air in the ealry morning tule fog.

Departure. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Description

My expectations are pretty straightforward. When I arrive at these locations before dawn to photograph birds, I want exactly the right amount of fog, enough developing sunrise light overhead to warm to the light a bit, the right birds against a photogenic background. (A cup of coffee and a fresh muffin would be nice, too, but that might be pushing things.) The reality is usually a bit more complicated.

I certainly found fog when I arrived on this morning. Perhaps a bit too much fog. It wasn’t quite the sort where you might be more successful making audio records of birds than photographing them, but it was close. As I moved around looking for the right birds in the right place, I eventually came upon a group of cranes, barely visible at first in the gray light. Although it isn’t really apparent in the photograph, it was sunrise, and the birds seem to know this even when the sun’s light is blocked by the tule fog. And if it is sunrise, the birds know that it is time to rise from the ponds and head off to wherever it is that they spend their days.

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

Cranes in Fog

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Cranes in Fog
A group of lesser sandhill cranes in thick morning fog, California Central Valley.

Cranes in Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of lesser sandhill cranes in thick morning fog, California Central Valley.

Awake almost three hours before sunrise, I headed to the kitchen to make coffee — enough to wake me up and enough to fill a thermos for later. I had mostly packed the car the previous night, so I just had to grab a small bag and head out the door to begin a two-hour pre-dawn drive to a place where I expected to find migratory birds and plenty of tule fog, two subjects that I chase during the winter months. The fog began a half hour before I arrived at my destination, and when I arrived as the first light came to the sky I heard thousands of birds in the distance.

At first it was too dark and the atmosphere too opaque for photography, so I headed out to find the source of the sounds. Soon I encountered a large flock of snow geese which departed a moment later. Moving on I got to a spot where I could hear the easily recognized sound of cranes nearby. I could just barely see them though the thick fog, but I stopped and waited, and as the fog drifted a bit I was able to spot them and make a few photographs of a group standing in shallow wetlands.

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.

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.