Tag Archives: perch

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Redwing Blackbird

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Redwing Blackbird
A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing Blackbird. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing blackbirds, especially when they flock together, seem like some of the most exuberant birds in my part of the world. On the ideal morning, hundreds (or more!) of them may assemble on a tree or among reeds, chirping and singing enthusiastically… only to suddenly and unexpectedly take to the air in tightly spaced groups whose flight patterns are amazing.

I didn’t have quite that experience on this occasion, but it was still a worthwhile moment. This bird was perched by itself on this winter wetland vegetation. As the male birds do, he was showing off his bright red wing patches as he faced m , with the wetland landscape barely visible in the distant background

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

Tree With Two Hawks, Fog

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Morning tule fog clears beyond a tree with a pair of hawks

Tree With Two Hawks, Fog. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning tule fog clears beyond a tree with a pair of hawks

I was in this location to photograph something quite different from what is seen here, but tule fog interfered with that subject to some extent. So I found myself wandering a bit more afield and looking for other subjects. Eventually the fog began to thin and drift away.

This solitary tree appeared against the background of a long grove of (mostly) cottonwood trees, and the thinning fog began to allow light from the morning sky into the scene. Initially I simply saw the tree itself as the subject, but as I composed the photograph I realized that a pair of hawks for perched side-by-side on one of the limbs.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Wing Blackbird

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Red-Wing Blackbird
A red-wing blackbird perched among wetland plants

Red-Wing Blackbird. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A red-wing blackbird perched among grasses

The red-wing blackbird (and the similar tri-color blackbird) are among those birds that are found all over the place here in California. I’ve encountered them in agricultural areas and on trails in coastal hills parks, in huge groups or as solitary individuals. They often perch, and they aren’t too hard to photograph with a long lens, though their very dark feathers can provide some exposure challenges. When they take to the air they often move quickly and can be hard to track.

The red patches are not always visible. In fact, when I first saw this individual I did not see them. But the bird seemed content to remain in one spot for a while, so I settled in with the bird in the viewfinder and waited. Typically the first thing I’ll do is to try to grab an initial photograph that is at least usable. But they I wait and watch for something beyond that, something that might show the animal in a special way. As I watched this bird, all of a sudden it puffed out its feathers and exposed those brilliant red patches for a few seconds.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Tailed Hawk

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Red-Tailed Hawk
A red-tailed hawk perches on the top of a fence post.

Red-Tailed Hawk. San Joaquin Valley, California. December 3, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A red-tailed hawk perches on the top of a fence post.

Birds like this one are everyone in the west once you start looking for them, though they are not often easy to approach. In a place like this, where there are many thousands of other birds, these raptors are always there but in much smaller numbers. I frequently see them perched high in large trees or flying past, sometimes provoking reactions from the other birds.

This one teased me a bit. The first time I saw it, much earlier in the day, it was standing on this same fence post and watching a nearby field. Every so often it would take off and, I presume, hunt for something to eat before returning a few minutes later. I never was able to get close to it, so I stayed at a distance and watched. I returned much later in the day, when warm early sunset light was shining on the bird and starting to turn the sky pink. As I drove past on the gravel road it didn’t budge, so I stopped and rolled down a window and photographed it perching on “its” fence post.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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