Tag Archives: sandhill

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

Three Cranes, Winter Sky

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Three Cranes, Winter Sky
Three lesser sandhill cranes against winter blue sky, Central Valley.

Three Cranes, Winter Sky. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Three lesser sandhill cranes against winter blue sky, Central Valley.

This is another “just plain birds” photograph, in this case of a small group of lesser sandhill cranes that flew past my position in mid-morning light on a late-winter day near the end of the migratory bird season at this location. I often try to photograph the birds in some context, whether it is against the landscape of the Great Central Valley or a dramatic winter sky or in tule fog. But sometimes I just go ahead and make a straightforward, no-apologies photograph of birds. Like this one.

At one point some years ago I realized that cranes would often follow the flight paths of other cranes that had just passed by. It occurred to me that instead of waiting for the birds to come to me, I could just move to one of these spots, then sit and wait for them to fly over. I quickly learned that cranes do not like flying over humans. They may begin on a trajectory headed straight for you, but they will almost always divert and curve around. (The direct oversight is so rare that it always surprises me when it does happen.) This trio deflected later than most and flew past quite closely.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Walking Cranes

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Walking Cranes
A flock of sandhill cranes crosses a rural roadway in Central Valley pasture land.

Walking Cranes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of sandhill cranes crosses a rural roadway in Central Valley pasture land.

Why did the crane cross the road? In some of my recent posts I have written about how the behavior of geese and cranes seems to change as the time for them to fly back to the north approaches. From what I have seen, the birds become increasingly active — I’m tempted to use the word “restless” to describe it. They appear in larger flocks, and they assembly in different and more predictable places. They seem to be active at all hours of the day, there are frequent “lift offs” by thousands of them, and the cranes and various kinds of geese often seem to intermix.

It also seems like they become a bit less hesitant about being where humans are. You still can’t (and should not) get too close to them, but they start to show up alongside roads and paths and in ponds very close to such places. It isn’t at all uncommon to arrive in places along gravel roads… and find that the flocks are stretched right across the roadway. I often end up stopping to wait for them to finish their business or else approaching very slowly, giving them time to slowly move out of the way. I stopped to let this group of cranes finish its activities — I was in no hurry, and it gave me a chance to photograph them.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Four Cranes in Flight

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Four Cranes in Flight
Four lesser sandhill cranes in flight against blue sky.

Four Cranes in Flight. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Four lesser sandhill cranes in flight against blue sky.

So often photography is about composition, controlling the relationships among elements within the frame —left and right, front and back, up and down, relationships among colors and luminosity levels, lines, curves, and all the rest. This is certainly the case when photographing from the tripod, and it is usually true even when shooting with a handheld camera. Even in situations when things happen quickly, we try to maintain some awareness of how the different elements fit together.

Then some birds fly overhead against a pure blue sky… and one just makes exposures. In the midst of photographing birds in the larger landscape, I realized that I was in a spot that groups of sandhill cranes were traversing, often nearly directly overhead. To some extent you take what you get in these situations, and you don’t have any control over the relative positions of the birds. But you do have some control, at least if you have been photographing birds for a while. Rather than just blasting away in burst mode — which is sometimes the only realistic strategy — you can watch the birds, track their movements relative to one another, and increase the odds a bit by timing the exposures.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight

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Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes takes to the air in early morning light.

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Flight. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes takes to the air in early morning light.

It was late February when I made this visit to Central Valley wetlands to photograph migratory birds, mainly geese and sandhill cranes. From what I can tell, they tend to depart for their northern homes in early to mid-March, so I planned to squeeze a couple more visits while they were still here for their winter stay. That’s not the only reason, though, for visiting them at this point in the season. It also seems to be the time when they are the most lively, and most likely to be found in large groups that often remain quite active all day long.

As per my usual plan, I arrived a half hour before dawn and set up my camera equipment in the near darkness. Then I headed out into the surrounding wetland terrain, looking for subjects that might work in the first light of sunrise. I soon found groups of sandhill cranes standing in shallow water. Although it wasn’t in the forecast, there was a bit of low tule fog, just enough to soften the light a bit. As the cranes began to fly out from the pond they rose into the reddish first light of sunrise.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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