Tag Archives: migratory

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

Flock of Cranes in Flight

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Flock of Cranes in Flight
“Flock of Cranes in Flight” — A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in low level flight, Central Valley, California.

This group of sandhill cranes was a minor part of a wild mass of birds, including thousands of geese and lots of cranes. At this point in the season (mid-February) the migratory birds can be quite active during the day, with lots of coming and going. This group of birds was about to land and join a larger flock already on the ground.

I decided to use this high key approach to the photograph in order to slightly abstract the birds’ forms and to separate them from any distracting background. The photograph catches them in a particularly interesting moment: As cranes land they transition though a series of positions. First they glide in smoothly, then begin to turn into the breeze. Then the legs extend, wings rise, and necks crane forward just before they touch down.

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

Winter Geese, Winter Pond

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Winter Geese, Winter Pond
“Winter Geese, Winter Pond” — Migratory geese (including Rosss, snow, and cackling geese) settle in a California Central Valley pond as a weather front approaches.

On the best winter days, migratory birds gather by the hundreds of thousands (millions?) up and down California’s Central Valley, especially where the winter wetland ponds form. I first became vaguely aware of this decades ago on a winter drive up the Sacramento Valley on my way to Washington, when for the first time I saw multitudes of birds in the winter sky. Later a chance comment by a friend led me to a location in the delta where birds gather by thousands. Since then, I’ve been addicted to experiencing and photographing this annual wonder.

I made this photograph on a cloudy morning. The cloud shield overhead extended to the edge of the Sierra, which meant we had a brief but brilliant sunrise above the mountains. Then everything went mostly gray and hazy, and the light turned soft. These geese — largely a mixture of Ross’s, snow, and white-fronted — settled into a pond where I paused.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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

Sandhill Cranes, Wetland Pond

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Sandhill Cranes, Wetland Pond
“Sandhill Cranes, Wetland Pond” — A small group of lesser sandhill cranes stands in the shallow water of a wetland pond.

Sandhill cranes were the main reason that I went to the Central Valley on this winter morning. My plan was to be there before dawn — and I was! — so that I could photograph them taking flight in luminous fog at sunrise. But the fog over-achieved, and was so thick at sunrise that the birds weren’t visible at all. At that point the fog itself become my dawn subject.

As the morning wore on the fog thinned, and eventually the cranes and other birds became visible. I found a large group in a shallow pond where they had spent the night. One of the challenges of photographing groups of these birds is that much of the time their heads are down as they groom themselves or reach for the water. So I watch and wait, hoping for that instant when a few —or all! — of them raise their heads at once.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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: Sky, Photographs: Wildlife

Winter Birds, Virga

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Winter Birds, Virga
“Winter Birds, Virga” — Migratory geese in flight against virga sky, Central Valley.

An incoming storm from was just beginning to make its presence known on this morning. The front would not arrive until that night, but high clouds were already producing virga — rain that fails to fall all the way to the ground. I made the photograph as a group of migratory geese passed in front of a cloud lit by early morning light.

I’m going to give away a secret about this photograph and some others that I have made. Because I used a very long lens, I was able to isolate a small, interesting section of the sky. I frequently see small, distant, and very interesting things in the landscape. When this happens I like to use long lenses to extract them from the larger scene.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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