Tag Archives: sandhill

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Flock of Cranes, Marsh

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Flock of Cranes, Marsh
Flock of Cranes, Marsh

Flock of Cranes, Marsh. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 14, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of sandhill cranes gathers in a shallow San Joaquin Valley marsh

This large group of sandhill cranes was most cooperative with us during our mid-February visit to their habitat out in California’s San Joaquin Valley. While there are places in the valley where it is reasonably simple to get quite close to them, at this place they often hang out a good distance from the areas accessible to visitors—and many times the photography is therefore limited to very long shots or to birds passing overhead.

In general this was a somewhat different day as far as birds were concerned. The common mid-day lull in their activity was less pronounced, and for almost the entire day they tended to be quite active. Large groups of many different kinds of geese flew in and out, often collecting in large flocks in empty fields. Earlier a group of cranes had stood close to the access road near the larger group of geese. And a bit later in the day, a very large group of cranes settled in on this shallow pond and was willing to remain there as we photographed.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Seven Sandhill Cranes

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Seven Sandhill Cranes
Seven Sandhill Cranes

Seven Sandhill Cranes. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 14, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Seven sandhill cranes in shallow water, San Joaquin Valley

This was an interesting and varied day out in the Central Valley wetlands, chasing birds, fog, and various landscape subjects. We started, as is pretty much the rule, before dawn. Actually, the drive to this place started way before dawn and in the darkness, so that we could arrive and be ready to photograph before the sun rose. Meeting up with friends who came with the same ideas, we began our watching and searching and photographing in pre-dawn light and thick, low fog. As the morning wore on the ground fog dissipated, leaving behind the common Central Valley haze and some thin high clouds.

We continued to “work” this area, moving from place to place looking for the best bird photography opportunities. To me, “bird photography” does not just mean birds, but also includes effects of light and atmosphere and the background landscape. You never know for sure what you’ll find out here, but on this mid-February day the birds seems, to me at least, to be surprisingly active. Sometimes you’ll mostly get action very early and very late in the day, but this time it seemed like there was almost always something going on. Large flocks of various sorts of geese would arrive and depart, often collecting in large groups on fallow fields. There was a large number of cranes, and this time they often showed up in places that were relatively accessible to us. Several times we found fairly large groups of them not far from the gravel road that we were on, sometimes in fields and, as in this photograph, standing in shallow ponds. This group was close enough that I could photograph from the vehicle, using it as a blind, and by using a long lens get close enough to focus on this group standing together and—for the moment at least—facing in the same direction.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Pond

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Sandhill Cranes, Pond
Sandhill Cranes, Pond

Sandhill Cranes, Pond. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 14, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sandhill cranes stands in the shallow water of a San Joaquin Valley marsh

The sandhill cranes are among my favorite of the seasonal birds found in California’s Central Valley. Their call is almost replacing that of the geese as my favorite sonic image of winter in the valley, especially when it comes in thick fog and heralds the approach of birds that I cannot see. Their manner of flight is also special. Rather than wheeling wildly, as geese will do, they often seem to be headed somewhere, traveling in a mostly straight line and frequently at a low level. When they take off they remind me, in a way, of heavily laden passenger airliners that must ascend slowly. They may travel in groups of a dozen or more, but they may also be seen flying over in smaller groups of two or so.

Most often I cannot get very close to them. At one place where I frequently photograph I have gotten accustomed to seeing them take off just after dawn from a location that is just a bit too far away for good photographs. But on this mid-February day they seemed to be a little more willing to stick around as we came closer. On several occasions earlier in the day they stuck around as we drove slowly past. This group stood almost still in shallow water not far from our position (“hidden” in our vehicle on a nearby access road) and only gradually began to leave a bit later. I no longer recall what it was, but something to my left must have been very fascinating to cranes!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Two Cranes, Sunrise

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Two Cranes, Sunrise
Two Cranes, Sunrise

Two Cranes, Sunrise. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two cranes fly in front the rising sun above San Joaquin Valley wetlands

On New Years Eve 2013 I arrived back in the San Francisco Bay Area from New York after 10:00 PM. 8 hours later (2 hours of unpacking, four hours of sleep, and two hours of driving) I was in the Central Valley, where I met friends to greet the (literal) dawn of 2014 in the company of wild birds. We arrived before sunrise to find light fog drifting about and to hear the sounds of thousands of birds coming from every direction.

We made a few initial photographs before dawn from very close to our meeting location, and then we headed out into this wildlife area to find locations from which the birds (geese, cranes, herons, pelicans, and more) would be more visible. A few minutes later I looked over my left shoulder to see the very first sliver of the sun barely glowing through the layers of fog as cranes and other birds flew across the horizon above the marshland. I quickly found this spot where there was a small tree and where a bit of the further water was visible and I photographed though the sunrise, until the sun rose above the low mist and became to bright to include in the frame. There was a constant flow of birds across the scene – sometimes hundreds of them and sometimes, as in this scene, only a few.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.