Searching for a December Sunrise

As with everything, and especially with a hobby like photography, having goals is good. Having achievable goals is even better. But sometimes, you can have a good goal, and achievable as well, but the one thing you have zero control over just does not want to help you out. With the majority of the bird populations having vacated the Sanctuary, the goal was to focus on good sunrise (and in the case of the December Aliso Beach gallery – sunsets) pictures to fill the gap until Jan/Feb when the higher bird species start to repopulate the Wildlife Sanctuary.

December 1 & 2 12/1 geo-track / 12/2 geo-track
The start of December carried on with the fog which was prevalent in November. It wasn’t as overbearing as the previous month, but the impact on light at the start of the day was very noticeable. The sun just didn’t have a clear path to show off at the moment it cleared the horizon. The fog did eventually burn off, but it was a couple of hours after the sun had risen and the light was then a bit harsh for nice atmospheric landscapes.

Throughout the year, when the large flocks of migrating birds have come and gone, there are still a few that hang on around or are close enough in their standard hunting ground to make the area a quick visit through out the day. Terns, Gulls and the local Great Blue Heron are always around to give an appearance. On some days, you may be lucky enough to see some of the other four legged creatures that are supposed to be thriving in the area.

December 8 & 9 12/8 geo-track / 12/9 geo-track
The next weekend, the skies produced even less than the previous weekend, which out a hard stop to the goal of getting that good sunrise shot for the month. The sun burned the fog off early, but the sky still contained a layer of scuzzy clouds that diffused light around everything. This diffusion did help bring out what small areas of fall color existed, which to be honest isn’t much this year as things went from “green” to “dead” very quickly. Some visiting waterbirds and a couple of smaller species helped with the hunt of what to include in the gallery, with a first sighting of a Vermilion Flycatcher.

December 15 geo-track
The hint of a good morning was there, but the follow through unfortunately wasn’t. The clouds blew through early, but the humidity in the air had all the ponds and waterways steaming; coupling that with the canopy above some of the streams produced some other worldly scenic views.

December 22 geo-track
Finally! The light, sky and weather finally got the memo and offered up some great color for the morning. Having picked a new location to capture the sunrise, the view was a little limited as compared to some clicks which may have presented closer to the front ponds; but if you don’t try, you don’t know! The clouds held their form for the first 30 minutes at sunrise, giving off both detail and color. As the morning continued, the clouds turned into their scuzzy form, holding just enough mass to continue a gold glow for a while longer until a light breeze kicked up dissipating the clouds for good. This opened up opportunities for the back areas to have some nice streaming light over the water coming in from the marsh canopy.

Having missed a large grouping of 50+ Double-Crested Cormorants coming in the gather at the front ponds prior to a mass exodus for the day, the California Gulls seemed to stay localized around some of the better feeding ponds well into the late morning. Terns also joined back in full force, and while none of them ended up in the clicks, the Egrets seem to be making a return. This may be signalling the upcoming months returning to a more active state with the inhabitants of the Wildlife Sanctuary.

We hope you enjoy the above gallery!
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