Tag Archives: migratory

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

Five Sandhill Cranes

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Five Sandhill Cranes
A chorus of five sandhill cranes in California’s Central Valley.

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

A chorus of five sandhill cranes in California’s Central Valley.

I have seen a lot of sandhill cranes, but the group behavior seen here was new to me — the entire quintet raising their heads and displaying open beaks. I’m endlessly fascinated by the things that the birds and others do, and I’m often mystified by the purposes of these actions. In fairness, they may also be mystified by people showing up nearby, standing around with large metal and glass objects, and pointing them in their direction.

It is a bit unusual to get very close to sandhill cranes, at least in my experience. They have boundaries, and they are not amenable to having them crossed. I’ve mentioned previously that groups of them flying toward me will almost always divert to one side or the other rather than flying directly over head. When approached — which I always do in a non-aggressive manner, never getting very close — they seem fine up to a point. But once that point is reached, usually while I’m a good distance away, they are clearly uncomfortable with my presence and I don’t get closer. I’ve often had the best luck when photographing from a vehicle, especially when I can approach slowly and silently or, better yet, when I can park and wait for them. That’s what happened here — I was stopped along a rural roadway and they walked parallel to my position, perhaps more securely since my vehicle was on the opposite side of a berm from 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: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky

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Full Moon, Bird-Filled Sky
The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

When photographing wildlife, virtually any time of day can present special, even miraculous events — but if forced to pick my favorite time of the day out in bird photography country, it might well be evening. The choice would be difficult, for sure, but some of the most memorable sights and sounds I’ve experienced while photographing autumn and winter birds have occurred late in the day: the evening fly-out of flocks of geese, the rising moon, the return of cranes, and more.

I made this photograph very late on a December day, at time time we might describe as very late afternoon or perhaps early evening. (Yes, technically the moon was not quite full.) It had been foggy for much of the day, but the sky had cleared and was now uniformly blue. It was the time when things are mostly slowing down and evening’s quiet is coming. And then the sky filled with birds for a few moments…

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

Sandhill Cranes, Winter Wetlands

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Sandhill Cranes, Winter Wetlands
A large group of sandhill cranes assembles in Pacific Flyway wetlands on a winter morning.

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

A large group of sandhill cranes assembles in Pacific Flyway wetlands on a winter morning.

This was one of the larger assemblies of sandhill cranes I have seen in California’s Great Central Valley. (Though it still fall far short of the largest group I’ve seen, in an out-of-the way spot in the delta region east of San Francisco Bay.) There are quite a few visible in the photograph, but many more were outside the frame on both sides and extending well into the distance. It seems to me that they are more likely to be part of such groups late in their California season, or at least that the groups are less remote from observation points.

At the point I photographed them, most of the cranes were still relatively settled in on this pond, with only a few coming and going. A bit later they began to depart, typically in small groups of perhaps a half dozen or so. But at this moment, aside from the five who thoughtfully occupied the upper part of the frame, they were mostly stationary as the early morning sun came to the 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.

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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

The Crane Dance, Morning

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The Crane Dance, Morning
Two sandhill cranes perform the ritual “crane dance” as others look on.

The Crane Dance, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two sandhill cranes perform the ritual “crane dance” as others look on.

For the most part, sandhill cranes pretty much… stand around a lot. They often seem to be doing nothing at all, though perhaps they are feeding. Groups will stand in one spot for long periods of time, or perhaps a few may decide to wander a short distance for some reason. (If their path takes them away from you, there is a good chance that you may be closer than you really should be.) They fly out in the morning, and big groups of them often return in the evening, in what I regard as the most dynamic time of day for them.

And then, every so often, they “dance.” A pair of them, or sometimes an individual or even more than two, perform this remarkable ritual. By some combination of hopping and wing flapping they rise abruptly into the air, typically getting no more than a couple of feet off the ground and then dropping back to the same spot. From what I read, this may be a part of their mating/courting ritual, though they do this at other times for what seems to be no discernible reason. Perhaps they just feel like dancing? (In this little scene, I’m intrigued by the interested voyeurs on the left!)

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.