Thursday, June 04, 2009

Cottontail Close-up


Walking out of the wetlands a few evenings ago I encountered this young Cottontail sitting in the path. I’m sure it noticed me first as it sat very still watching me intently. No doubt the little rabbit who was no larger than a softball was hoping I would pass without noticing its motionless form.

Spreading the legs on the tripod I began photographing the little bunny while occasionally approaching a few steps closer until I was close enough to capture frame filling images and all the while the only movement I noticed from the rabbit was the occasional twitch of its nose.

When approaching wildlife I have found it best to close the distance slowly and at an angle. A direct approach with often cause the animal (or bird) to flee much more quickly than an angled approach were they have reason to believe that you may pass safely by.

10 comments:

Carol said...

I have 3 rabbits grazing in my yard right this minute. Cant wait till the little ones start coming out.

www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

He is so cute.

Adrienne Zwart said...

I just love bunnies! (Except when they are eating my flowers--but even then, they're still cute.) I liked your tip on how to approach wildlife. I'm going to try that next time!

Elaine said...

Absolutely beautiful photo of this little cottontail!

You commented on my blog that the scenes in my photos were not that much different than PA. My husband grew up in Beaver Falls, PA, and I have visited in the summer and fall, and in some ways Alaska is much the same. Looking out my window the scene would not be too much different than places in PA. Of course, Alaska covers a huge area and has an incredible diversity in climate, but since most of my photos are from the Tanana Valley in the Interior, that is what I use for comparison. I think the biggest difference is that we have less variety of trees and plants, and a different mix of birds and wildlife. A very big difference is our hours of daylight. Now we are at 21 hours between sunrise and sunset with no full darkness and that will continue to increase at about 5 minutes a day until June 21st, then it will go the other way, so that at the end of December there is 3 hours between sunrise and sunset, but a long twilight time. Also we have snow on the ground from sometime in October until sometime in April. You would also notice a huge difference in the architecture. Fairbanks was first settled in 1902 during the gold rush. You won't see the beautiful old buildings that you do in PA, but then again we don't have any skyscrapers either. I will have to ask my husband what his view is on the subject. Even though he moved away 50 years ago, I'm sure he will think of things that I haven't.

Shelley said...

What a sweet furry bunny! And thanks for the tip to approach them with at an angle - it makes sense!

Montanagirl said...

The bunny is so cute. And that's good advice about approaching from an angle. I have pretty much finished the "branding" photos, and have posted a few, so now I hope to catch up on my comments.

photowannabe said...

So sweet. I think its a little like kids that close their eyes and think nobody can see them because they can't see anyone.
Your patience has paid off in getting such wonderful photos.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed reading Elain's comment Salty. LOL And to think that my wife and I were going to go to Alaska in the middle 1950s as Homesteaders to get a section of land free. Sometimes I wonder how our lives would be different today had we done that.

And you bunny is a winner. I love rabbits when they are smaller and are busy exploring their new world. They sure go through a lot of my flowers but I don't mind much as long as the stems can rejuvenate the plant.

I was just thinking yesterday (this is Friday morning early and it is colder than a witches' tit here in SW Ohio) that I should dig out the bunny pictures that shows one little guy devouring a giant hibiscus blossom.

Abraham Lincoln's cousin.

Michele said...

It's an adorable bunny. For some reason or another, I find it really hard to spot the bunnies out here. Hmm... maybe all the grizzlies ate them up because there's a lot of them up there and they look mighty chubby ... =)

Tom said...

Another superb capture Salty, as always I like to read through the comments and found Elaines most interesting. It things like this that make blogging great.

Thank you for your visit and comment and I fully understand what you say.. and I just want you to know that I don't mind at all.. it is in fact nice to know you are busy.. :O)

Tom