Tag Archives: migratory

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

Evening Geese

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Evening Geese
A large flock of geese takes to the air in evening light

Evening Geese. Central Valley, California. February 5, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of geese takes to the air in evening light

Each day among these migratory birds moves through a kind of cycle, with variations that eventually become familiar but which don’t become any less compelling or exciting. It typically starts with a pre-dawn drive and arrival at a likely spot to find them — preferably in fog! It is always thrilling to catch the first sight and sound of the birds. The day continues, likely passing from fog to hazy sunshine, as the birds tend to settle into midday routines. Sometime after lunch it is (almost always) time for a break, but the work resumes by mid-afternoon. At first things happen slowly, but as evening approaches the pace picks up – more birds coming and going, more frequent take-offs, light that evolves in beautiful ways — and before long it is sunset and then dusk.

Early morning and evening are times of daily transition for the birds, so there is often a lot of action. Although a mass take-off can occur at almost any time if something sets off the flock, they become more likely and more impressive in the evening. They also become more difficult to photograph! As light fades and the subject becomes more interesting, the photographic challenges of low light increase. Rather than giving in to the dimming light I often take a different approach and embrace the motion blur, following the general mass of birds but allowing the fine details to soften and merge.

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

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

Two Geese, Reflection, Fog

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Two Geese, Reflection, Fog
Two geese float on a winter pond in morning fog, Great Central Valley

Two Geese, Reflection, Fog. February 5, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two geese float on a winter pond in morning fog, Great Central Valley

As is typical, this morning in California’s Great Central Valley began in fog — for so think that it initially obscured almost all potential subjects, at least if they were more than a few yards off of the route. Many times we could hear large numbers of geese and cranes that were not visible in the fog, but eventually some would break off from the flock and fly over and past us.

The fog is among my favorite features of winter in this valley, especially in the lowland wet areas where it can be foggy on many winter days. The fog transforms the landscape in many compelling ways. By obscuring distant detail, subjects can sometimes be seen apart from their regular surroundings. It is possible to make photographs in locations that would have been far too busy in “good” light — the fog selecting obscures of mutes more distant subjects. Here I stopped in a spot where there were few geese at all, though those that were hanging out here we floating serenely on the surface of the pond.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Sunrise, Marshland, Birds

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Sunrise, Marshland, Birds
Thousands of migratory geese fly above foggy San Joaquin Valley marshland at dawn

Sunrise, Marshland, Birds. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 26, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thousands of migratory geese fly above foggy San Joaquin Valley marshland at dawn

On this late-February day we arrived at the wetlands well before dawn, slowed by heavy tule fog along the final miles of our route. The fog was thick but not deep, and while our horizontal view was obscured we could see that objects as short as utility poles extended above the fog layer. At our destination we finally stopped, and got out of the vehicle to set up camera equipment and to get the lay of the land.

Almost immediately flocks of geese began erupting from ponds and taking to the sky, thousands at a time. First a group nearby, then one far off to one side, then another at the distant edge of the refuge, and so on until the sky was filled with them. We thought that it was perhaps the greatest bird tumult that we had seen, and we had arrived just in time to see it. (Of course, only a few days later we experienced an even more monumental evening, with tens of thousands of geese and cranes.) At first we simply photographed the birds in the low light, but eventually I turned my attention to the landscape and made a few photographs across the tule ponds toward the first light developing above the Sierra crest far to our east.

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

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight

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Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight A pair of lesser sandhill cranes in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 26, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pair of lesser sandhill cranes in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Near the end of the winter migratory bird season in the San Joaquin Valley, where we photograph these birds all winter, the birds seem to collect in ever larger number and become more and more active, especially by this late-February period. On this morning visit to a favorite bird photography destination we found tens of thousands of Ross’ geese, along with many white-fronted geese and others, plus huge groups of lesser sandhill cranes. They became active shortly before dawn and didn’t stop until we departed hours later.

I have photographed the sandhill cranes here on many previous occasions, but this turned out to be one of my best opportunities yet to photograph them in the air. Large flocks were on the ground on both sides of the gravel road on which we were driving, and if we stopped in the right spots they would fly almost directly overhead and they moved from spot to spot. These are beautiful birds, graceful in their gliding flight with striking red patches on their heads, and an instantly recognizable cry.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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