Wintering Whitetails

 The harsh weather and limited food supplies makes winter a struggle for survival. The deer depend upon various food supplies to get them through the winter.  Much of their time is spent browsing twigs from ground level to as high as a deer can reach standing nearly erect.

 Supplemental feeding is discouraged or made unlawful by conservation agencies however food plots planting are usually encouraged.  Food plots as pictured here are often used by hunters for attracting deer during the hunting seasons but they can also be an important source of winter survival food.

While this winter has been unusually mild, winter survival food is still important as wildlife continues to feed upon last years growth until warm spring temperatures bring on the lush growth of a new season.

Wildlife Management in Changing Times

 Growing up as a kid in rural Pennsylvania hunting was an intrinsic part of life.  Nearly all of the men called themselves hunters, at least during deer season, and even a few of the women.  The anticipation of joining their ranks was enough to fill a youngsters dreams and even sometimes keep him up at night.  But those days are no more. 

With hunter numbers declining across the nation, wildlife conservation agencies have rolled out the red carpet in an attempt to lure youngsters into becoming lifelong customers.  Pennsylvania has instituted special youth events, youth only hunting seasons, and mentored youth hunting with no license or minimum age requirements as a way of introducing kids to hunting.

 Wildlife conservation agencies have historically depended upon hunters for much of their funding so it is no small surprise that they are pulling out all of the stops in an attempt to shore up their customer base.  How successful these efforts ultimately are will not be seen for a number of years however; I have not seen any data suggesting that it is making an appreciable difference.  

However while the agencies single mindedly concentrate on attracting more hunters and offering more hunting opportunities they ignore and at times infuriate what could be an important customer base, the wildlife viewer/photographer. (ref links: Alaska Wolves, Alaska Bears, Sandhill Cranes, Pa Elk)  And according to most studies wildlife viewing is a growth activity.

Having been an avid consumptive hunter in the past I have found my own attitudes and values changing over the years.  No longer is filling a tag or bag limit a prerequisite for a good day afield.  Instead, I find that my most memorable moments are those when I am capturing images of wildlife.

Society's view of the appropriate uses of wildlife is changing. Hunting will play an important part in wildlife management for the foreseeable future however wildlife agencies need to be looking for alternate means of funding as hunter ranks shrink. Wildlife viewers/photographers are a largely untapped resource.  However for it to be successful; wildlife will need to be managed for all of the users rather than for the single purpose of hunting. The question that remains to be answered is whether wildlife agencies will embrace the change or continue floundering in the paradigm of the past.

Red-winged Blackbird: Blackwater NWR

Red-winged Blackbirds normally arrive in my area about the third week of February.  I always look forward to their arrival as an early harbinger of spring.  However apparently some winter on Maryland's Eastern Shore as they have been present on both of our recent visits to Blackwater NWR.  Needless to say it was a pleasure to hear the song I associate with spring on a mid winter day.

Back to Blackwater

 Deciding to utilize the unseasonably warm weather forecast for this week Willard and I again visited Blackwater NWR Wednesday.  Arriving before the refuge opened we stopped at the canoe launch along MD 355 to photograph the dawn.  A few light showers were moving through the area making for dramatic skies.

 Later in the morning a partial rainbow developed where we were photographing waterfowl near the entrance to wildlife drive.  Not taking time to change lenses, I used the 600mm to make this capture.

A distant eagle surveys its domain.

Northern Shovelers: Blackwater NWR

 Northern Shovelers feeding in Blackwater NWR freshwater marsh

 An Audubon field guide marks the Chesapeake Bay as the Northern Shovelers northern-most wintering range.  During our recent visit to Blackwater we found a small flock dabbling in one of the freshwater marsh impoundments.  This is a species that I have encounterd only once in my home area so to encounter them here was a special photo opportunity for me.

The shovelers were so engaged in feeding that it nearly every frame I captured had numerous ducks tipping.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Lucky Break

After raining yesterday afternoon and throughout the night the precipitation stopped this morning.  As usual on my days off I headed out at daybreak hoping to capture some wildlife images however things didn't work out as I had hoped for.  For one thing the wild turkeys apparently chose a different route leaving the roost and never came into view.  A beautiful fox squirrel did show up and perched in a nearby tree cutting a walnut but before I could get the shot he spooked.

Heading home with no pixels exposed, I was a little disappointed with the morning's outcome.  Rounding a bend in the road I noticed a large bird perched in a roadside tree.  With no traffic behind me I pulled the car to the side.  Swinging the door I open braced the 600mm between the door and the body.  Shooting against a gray sky can be problematic so I dialed in a +1 exposure compensation to keep the subject from being too heavily exposed. 

Whether hunting with a weapon or a camera a few seconds can make the difference between returning home empty handed or with a smile on ones face.  This morning I was all smiles!

Wild Turkeys: Tensions Rising

Day by day the tensions are rising in the wild turkey flocks.  The breeding season is still some time off but the gobblers are becoming more aggressive as they vie for dominance. 

A flock of jakes (yearling males) surround a mature gobbler

Vastly outnumbered, the mature gobble breaks and runs with the jakes in hot pursuit

The gobbler continued to run until the jakes gave up the chase

In the coming weeks the aggression will continue to build as the spring mating season approaches.  Fights will occur where a pair of gobblers will fight to exhaustion.  I'm hoping a good fight will occur in front of my camera as it did in February of 2010.

American Coot

The thousands of geese present at Blackwater can cause the casual viewer to miss many of the other inhabitants of the wetlands.  At first glance the geese may be all that you see but a closer look reveals many other species mixed in.  One of those species, the subject of today's post is the American Coot.

Although they look much like a duck and swim like a duck they aren't ducks; Coots are member of the rail family.  Unlike the other species of rail, the coot has lobed feet; an adaptation that makes them excellent swimmers. 

I could count the number of times I have encountered coots in my home area on the fingers of one hand so I was very pleased to be able to photograph this pair of American Coots foraging at Blackwater NWR.

. 

Blackwater Honkers

Canada geese are by far the most commonly seen wildlife at Blackwater NWR.  The waterfowl was concentrated in the freshwater marshes to the right of wildlife drive. 

Some time after sunup the waterfowl flew to the fields that lay along Key Wallace Drive where thousands upon thousands of Canada geese could be seen foraging on the food plots.  I found it interesting that the huge flocks paid no attention to passing vehicles.  However upon slowing the geese would begin running directly away with a few taking flight.  Their reaction to slowing vehicles makes me wonder if there is a problem in the area with persons shooting from vehicles. 

Mixed with the geese were various species of ducks.  Here a male pintail and two females swim by some resting Canadas.