Tag Archives: san joaquin

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

Snow Geese in Formation

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Snow Geese in Formation
“Snow Geese in Formation” — A group of snow geese in flight and lined up vertically.

Most of these migratory birds will likely have departed from their winter homes in Central California by the time you see this photograph. They arrive in the fall, overwinter, and then depart some time in early March. Back in the pandemic year of 2020 I visited one of the places where I photograph them about one week into March, and they were still there. I went back one week later, and they had all departed. The place seemed awfully lonely!

This group was part of a much larger flock that was in motion above wetland ponds — thousands of birds swirling around as they contemplated where they might land. The light was just right for this group — it came from the side and from down low, illuminating the birds’ undersides. (Often photos of birds overhead end up too dark against the bright sky.) I also like the fact that the five of them together demonstrate every phase of their wing flapping.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

The Fly-In

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The Fly-In — geese arrive over a wetlands pond at sunset.
“The Fly-In” — Thousands of migratory geese arrive in the wetlands at sunset.

A day spent photographing migratory geese and other birds often includes a lot of “slow time” when little is happening. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — sometimes the quiet and stillness is enough by itself. But around sunrise and sunset there is often a of activity as large flocks of birds take to the air and head to nighttime locations. If you are where they arrive, it is the “fly-in.” When they depart, we refer to the “fly-out.”

This huge flock of geese (almost certainly snow geese for the most part) arrived just after I went to this spot to photograph a colorful winter sunset and its reflection in the waters of a wetland pond. The flock arrived, circled, and eventually settled down on the water… and quiet returned.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Marsh and Fog, Sunrise

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Marsh and Fog, Sunrise, Central Valley, California
“Marsh and Fog, Sunrise” — Fog envelopes a wetlands marsh at sunrise.

This was a morning of utmost stillness and quiet. We worked our way around the perimeter of a wetlands landscape filled with ponds. Geese and sandhill cranes were beginning to stir in the first light. There was thick tule fog before dawn, and it started to thin as the sky began to lighten as the sun rose.

These wetlands marshes can be a welcome antidote to the stresses of our current world. (No, I don’t believe in ignoring the causes of that stress, just in trying to find balance.) Here things move so slowly that sometimes they barely appear to change at all. In this scene a few ducks paddled by slowly, and tiny ripples appeared in the water, while fog moved almost imperceptibly.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Morning Fog, Geese, and Trees

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Morning Fog, Geese, and Trees
“Morning Fog, Geese, and Trees” — A flock of geese in flight over wetlands trees and thining morning fog.

Few things are as thrilling as a flock of geese lifting off all at once on a winter morning shortly after dawn. They erupt suddenly, generally without warning, in a mass of sound and flapping wings, and then spread out across the landscape as they turn and circle or perhaps head off into the distance. A few moments later, the morning is once again quiet.

I made this photograph early in the morning, shortly after sunrise when the light was still warmly colored by the newly-risen sun. A bit of fog was rising from the wetlands ponds, and the hills of the western Central Valley were visible in the distance.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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