Tag Archives: refuge

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

Western Meadowlark

February 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Western Meadowlark perched in San Joaquin Valley branches

I’m going to indulge my bird photograph collection interest and share what is really just a photograph of another little bird! This beautiful little bird was a side attraction I found during a recent visit to the California Central Valley to mainly photograph geese and cranes, plus the odd heron and egret.

Photographing the larger birds is an experience that often vacillates between moments of wildly photographing as birds fly above, or as huge flocks take to the sky, and then long periods of not doing much at all — waiting for birds, trying to figure out where the birds are, moving to another location to find birds, and so forth. But I’ve found that when I keep my eyes open I find interesting things that aren’t what I was initially looking for. That was the case with this yellow western meadowlark, which was standing in some brush alongside a perimeter road at a wildlife refuge and which I just happened to spot while passing by.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle

February 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A bald eagle perches in a tree.

I rarely see bald eagles in my home territory in the San Francisco Bay Area, so seeing them when I travel is a special treat. This area of the Klamath Basin that I visited in mid-February is known for them — in fact there is one refuge in the area that is off-limits to humans, specifically so that these magnificent birds can flourish without being disturbed. As I was out in a refuge on afternoon and driving along a levee I spotted a group of people stopped ahead. I slowed down and approached slowly, not wanting to disturb whatever they say, and I soon saw the very big eagles nest up in one of the trees. Soon I saw that there were two eagles in the tree, and I made some initial photographs.

I returned to the area again the next evening, this time with a better organized plan. Sure enough, both eagles were again out and about in the are of their nest, alternating between perching in the nest and heading out to hunt. At one point this eagle returned from a hunt, but instead of going to the nest and sharing its prize, the bird perched on a branch a few hundred feet from where its partner was in the next and it proceeded to feast on something it had caught. This provided an excellent opportunity to get a relatively close (with a long telephoto) and unobstructed view of the bird. After eating, the eagle tore some trigs and small branches from the tree and flew off to carry them back to the nest — as if to say, “Sorry, no food. But I did bring something nice for the house.”

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Tundra Swans, Mount Shasta

February 22, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tundra swans fly in front of distant cloud-shrouded Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta is one of those special mountains that stands alone and above all around it. In land that rarely exceeds a few thousand feet in elevation, this peak soars to over 14,000′, only a bit shorter than Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the Lower 48 States. While Mount Whitney is nestled into a very high section of the Sierra Crest, along with other peaks and ridges of nearly the same height, nothing near Shasta is remotely near as tall. Its bulk soars above the rest of the landscape, especially when it is covered in winter snows — and the clouds that build over its summit can make it seem even larger. As we like to point out, the peak is so big that it makes its own weather.

The peak is clearly visible from this area of the Klamath Basin, and it is the first thing to catch the morning light. While out in this immense valley photographing tundra swans I noticed that some flocks along the far side of the valley were passing in front of the peak, and I started tracking them to see if any would cross the mountain at the right elevation. As I saw a flock far to my northwest, I would begin to track it along the horizon, hoping that it would pass in front of the peak and be high enough to clear the lower and darker mountains, yet not so high as to be far above the peak.

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Tundra Swans, Winter Sky

February 21, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tundra swans against a cloud-covered winter sky

I photographed my first tundra swans a few years back, when I was just getting interesting in photographing the migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway. Actually, it was quite literally the first time I did this sort of photography. On the basis of a chance encounter with a friend who just happened to mention a place where sandhill cranes could be found, I decided this sounded as interesting as anything else on my agenda, and off I went, to a place where I was stunned to find a sky filled with birds, almost none of which I recognized, much less could name. Later when I shared one of the photographs of a line of birds flying above me, someone said, “hey, those are tundra swans.” If you say so! Somehow, possibly because of their relative scarcity where I photograph, these birds intrigued me.

Earlier this month I made another bird photography trip, also more or less on a the basis of a whim, though perhaps a little bit more informed this time and with some significant experience under my belt. Yet, arriving in this place, I really did not know what I would find — but I was very happy to discover that it was a major stopping place for these beautiful birds. Ironically I “saw” some early in the morning but didn’t recognize them. Later, during the “boring light” hours of the day I found a big group in a pond, and later that day I photographed them again. There are probably many ways to photograph them, but one seems to be to go where the birds will fly over — and that’s pretty much what I did here. I simply figured out that they were taking a certain route across a valley, and then I put myself under that spot and waited.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: refuge

Western Meadowlark

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Bald Eagle

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.