SNP Whitetails Revisited

 On a recent morning my brother, Willard, and I ventured down to Shenandoah National Park to check on the whitetail situation.  SNP once was our go-to place to photograph mature whitetail bucks however two years ago an intensive collaring/tagging and CWD testing program brought our buck photography there to a screeching halt.  Practically overnight all of commonly seen the large bucks were sporting large collars with even larger number placards and transmitters or large white ear tags while others had strangely disappeared.

Fortunately this day was to be different.   Well before sunrise we encountered a large buck that allowed us to trail along photographing him for over an hour before finally retiring to the woodland to bed up for the day.  What began as a day with low expectation turned out to be a exceptionally memorable morning with a beautiful animal!

Shenandoah: A Huge Disapointment

With much anticipation Willard and I headed to Shenandoah National Park planning on photographing the whitetail rut.  We were concerned about the effects of an ongoing deer study but information on the NPS web site indicated that no more than 70 deer in the park would be either tagged or collared.  This was the first buck we encountered.  He was in the Big Meadows area at the Tanners Ridge overlook wearing his easily visible ear tags. 

Number 91 was with a group of four antlerless deer of which three of them were tagged as well.

The next mature buck encountered was V7.  While the ear tags can be dealt with in Photoshop the GPS collar and large numbered tag is too much.

After photographing a few of the bucks to document the tags we didn't even bother to stop when we spotted bucks wearing their latest bling.

 A number of the does were wearing the GPS collars and large numerals as well.

This was the smallest collared/tagged buck we encountered.

 

During the course of the morning and early afternoon we sighted one mature buck that was not tagged or collared and one buck (91) with ear tags.  ALL other mature bucks sported the GPS collars and large green numeral tags! 

 

I could hardly believe the visual effect of this study on the whitetails of Shenandoah.  After stopping for lunch and discussing the situation we decided that our best move was to cancel our motel reservations and head for home; cutting our trip short by two days.

 

If any of you reading this are photographers considering visiting SNP to shoot the rut I would advise you to reconsider.  This study has destroyed this years rut photography and appears that this will be the case for years into the future.  For more information on the study click here.

Butting Heads in Velvet

With our whitetail rut still over two months away, the bucks have begun sparring.  After a peaceful spring and summer resting, feeding, and traveling together tension is beginning to build in the bachelor groups.


 

Their velvet covered antlers in the very last stage of development apparently are not as sensitive as they were a short time ago.  These bucks were exerting considerable pressure as they jabbed, parried and shoved.

 

Soon the bachelor groups will dissolve as the bucks become more aggressive preparing for the fantastic season of love and war.

Bucks & Bears: A Morning in SNP

 

Once again Willard and I found ourselves in Shenandoah National Park at daylight Friday morning.  While whitetails are our primary focus other wildlife photo opportunities do occur.  After the deer had moved into the deep woods for the day we encountered this bear ambling along the road. 

 

 Alighting from the vehicle with the Canon 30D with a 100-400mm attached my only option was to shoot handheld.  The light level was quite low so I cranked the ISO to 1000 (as high as this camera can go before digital noise becomes objectionable).  Holding as steady as possible with image stabilization on I rapid fired hoping to obtain a sharp image as the shutter speed was only 1/100 sec.  The encounter was brief but it gave me my very best bear photo to date.

 

 

 

 

As summer winds down the bucks are beginning to exhibit the early signs of the coming rut.  This young buck gave me my first lip-curl shot of the season.

 

 

SNP Whitetails in the Fog

The first nice buck Willard and I was able to photograph during our recent SNP visit was busy browsing.  His concentration on feeding was soon to be broken, but not by us.

Soon a doe moved in demanding his attention.  This doe's summer coat is shedding revealing the growing winter hair. 

From the other side a small buck joined in, nuzzling the buck to draw his attention away from the doe.

I'm sure he didn't mean anything by his expression but with his eye squinted and tongue extended, his pose made a cute shot!

During this encounter banks of fog periodically rolled across the meadow.  The fog banks are responsible for the softness of the last three images.  All images were made with a Canon 60D, 600mm f4 & tripod. 

I'm looking forward to photograph the SNP whitetail rut again this autumn but before then I hope to be able to make a few more trips to capture more late summer whitetail activity. 

Roughhousing: Whitetail Style

Whitetails are gregarious animals preferring to spend their time in the company of others.  Socializing takes many forms and included some good natured roughhousing.  I watched and photographed this pair of bucks for a considerable time while the smaller buck harassed the larger in an obvious attempt to gain his attention.

Finally the big guy had had enough! 

And rose up on his hind legs with flailing front feet to land a blow

The smaller buck, reacting quickly, received only a glancing blow to his flank.

The moment of hostility passed quickly.  In less than five minutes the bucks were making up, their friendship still obviously intact, the brief spat quickly becoming a distant memory.

This last image is a type of deer image that you will probably never see in any hunting publication.  Images of deer feeding, fighting, or just about anything else may be found but images depicting tender moments between animals will never make the grade.  Is it because that images of this type may make some less inclined to kill an animal that exhibits feeling?  I really don't know the answer to that question but I do know better than to waste my time submitting images of this type to any publication associated with the hunting industry.

These images were captured Saturday during a morning visit to Shenandoah National Park.  The stormy weather was forecast to move out during the night however upon our arrival before dawn the sky was cloudy with intermittent sprinkles.  Fog banks and light rain moved through our area as the sky began clearing shortly after dawn.  The mixture of sun, clouds, and fog kept the light from becoming harsh to quickly and made for and excellent morning of whitetail photography.

SNP supports a large protected whitetail herd that is acclimated to humans.  Since the deer are not concerned about human presence one is able to observe and photograph natural whitetail behaviour; something that is extremely difficult at best when working with a hunted herd.   

We are Here!!

The frantic activity of the whitetail rut now bears fruit as a new crop of whitetail fawns arrive.  Meandering about on still somewhat wobbly legs this young fawn wasn't sure how to react.  At first it crouched as if about to lie down but then taking its cue from its mother who was not reacting to my approach it relaxed.

Willard and I visited Shenandoah National Park this morning in hopes of photographing the recently birthed fawns.  The fawns have been arriving here for the past two weeks.  Originally we had planned our visit for Friday however with heavy rain in the forecast we postponed until today.  Although the storm had passed it left much cooler temperatures and windy weather in its wake; not ideal conditions to find nursing fawns in open areas.   

After spending a few hours searching for fawns in the meadow we were heading for the exit when we spotted a doe and fawn near the roadside.  Following up on foot, this chance encounter made the difference between success and failure.

Winter Cleaning

I sometimes hear my wife refer to spring cleaning but spring is a busy time in the outdoors so I have decided to set some time aside this winter for clean-up.  File clean-up.

I'm a procrastinator and somewhat of a hoarder so tackling my image files has looked like a daunting task.  Instead of ruthlessly deleting images immediately after downloading I usually only delete the absolute blown shots and process the best; leaving hundreds, no thousands of images I will never use cluttering up my hard drives.  So I have declared this winter, Clean-up Winter!

In doing so I am getting to review all of my image collection and finding some overlooked gems mixed in.  There was never any doubt about the first image posted above being a keeper but the second; it deserved a second look.

Too Close For Comfort

 During a visit to Shenandoah National Park during the 2011 rut I spotted a good buck at a considerable distance and decided to get closer.  Not to be left behind Brad Myers joined me with Willard bringing up the rear.  Twenty five yards distance was close enough for frame filling head shots with my 400mm so we set the tripods down and went to work.

The buck seemed unconcerned with our presence but then began moving in our direction.  By this time I was sitting on the ground keeping my camera low for a better shooting angle.  I noticed that he was drawing nearer and soon was zooming out to obtain the compositions I desired.

And then with his head down his ears went back; there was no doubting his aggressive body language.  We all began talking sternly to him as we slowly backed away, making sure to continue maintaining eye contact as we went.  After following us for twenty yards or so he lost interest, turned and began moving parallel.

When he came to the woodline he scraped.  This image captured him as he scent-marked the overhanging branches by licking and rubbing them with his facial glands.

As he moved through a strip of woodland we repositioned to intercept him coming out the other side.  We watched as he battled the bushes in mock fighting and then as he began to emerge shutters began clicking.

And once again he headed directly toward the cameras!  When he lifted his tail we all knew that it was time once again to move back and give him room.  While this body language may not appear threatening don't be mislead; it is!  When a whitetail encounters a predator, if they don't flee, they will approach with head held high and tail lifted just as this buck was doing to us. 

Later in the evening we were again photographing the same buck as he rubbed a large tree, but this time from a much greater distance and this time he didn't seem to mind.

This whitetail was the most agressive buck I have ever encountered during my years of photographing the rut.  Having an understanding of their body language and behaviour helped defuse the situation.  Always remember if you get into a "Too Close For Comfort" situation always back away slowly, maintain eye contact, and never, never turn and run for that may be the trigger that brings on an attack.

As the sun dropped below the horizon we watched as this same buck approached another photographer with head and tail up.  The photographer, being seasoned and fully understanding the situation, backed away and continued backing until the buck lost interest.

Photographing Park Whitetails

Making good wildlife photographs is challenging but it certainly helps to have acclimated subjects to work with.  Its one thing to take a snapshot of a deer but to make a good photograph is an entirely different matter.  Having acclimated animals for subjects allows one to move their shooting position to take advantage of lighting angles and backgrounds.  These images were captured in Shenandoah National Park where the whitetails are accustomed to being around hordes of tourist throughout most of the year.

From Velvet through the Rut

August 10th I photographed this buck as he bounded away when a coyote trotted past

An Hour in a Buck's Life: Part 2

Approaching the upper end of the meadow I spotted a large buck watching the buck I was following

A Hour in a Buck's Life: Part 1

On a recent morning I located my favorite SNP whitetail very early before sunrise. 

Rutting Morning

Chasing does

Living the Dream

As the morning began to brighten I greeted another photographer in an SNP parking lot.  When he asked what I was there for I answered with one word; Whitetails.  He grimaced and said that he only had time to shoot the sunrise.  Trying to make the best of the beautiful sunrise developing I located a doe to silhouette against the awesome sky. 

Getting Ready to Rumble

Highlighted in the early morning sun a magnificent whitetail buck pauses to survey his surroundings

And moments later wages a mock battle with a bush

As the days become cooler and the hours of daylight shorten the bucks feel the irresistible urges of the coming rut

Appearing satisfied in winning the battle with the bush he poses before continuing on his way in search of more herbaceous foes to conquer; preparing for the real battles to yet to come.

I'm certain that this is the same buck posted by my friend and fellow wildlife photographer Brad Myers nearly a month ago.  To see the difference the month made in the buck's appearance click HERE to pop over and take a look.

SNP: Revisiting an old Friend

Once again early morning found Willard and I en route to Shenandoah National Park in search of Whitetail Bucks.  Visiting last in mid August we were eager to get back to see what the bucks looked like without their velvet.

Locating a group of four bucks in the woods before photographic light we thought the morning was off to a good start as we waited for the day to brighten.  Any thoughts of success were dashed when the bucks became nervous and suddenly burst into flight.  The cause of their alarm became apparent a moment later when movement in a large oak tree caught my attention.  A medium sized black bear hopped from branch to branch and suddenly dropped to the ground fleeing along the same path the bucks had traveled.

Shortly after sunrise we located a beautiful buck with a wide spreading rack and was busy photographing him when I spotted an even larger buck in the distance.  After assuring myself that I had gotten some nice images of the nearby buck I hurried to catch up to the big boy as he busied himself thrashing low hanging branches.

The buck worked along the woods line sparring with shrubs and saplings seeming to enjoy tearing up the vegetation with his new antlers.

Throughout the encounter I continued to feel as if I should know this buck but wasn't able to place him until I was reviewing the images on the computer.

My first encounter was during the 2007 rut when I spent a good part of the morning with him as he stood guard over a doe.  This photo of him was my very first published whitetail photo and have since always referred to him as Calendar Boy.

Meeting Calendar Boy again after the rut of 2008 I was disappointed to see his shattered rack. Disappointed that I was unable to capture a good image of his '08 rack, but at the same time glad that it was only his antler that was damaged.

Willard caught up with him for a fantastic photo session during the 2009 rut but I never caught sight of him that year and during the autumn of 2010 we both came up dry.  So it was a great pleasure to meet up with him again this morning.

How you might ask do I know for sure that this is the same buck?  Aside from coloration, body build and antler conformation this buck has a very unique mark that upon close observation makes him unmistakable.  Check out the dark mark below the rear corner of his right eye and then review the above images.

Being able to follow an animal throughout the years is special part of big game photography.  In hunting country seldom can this be accomplished but with the total protection that the National Parks afford their creatures the close observer can be rewarded with the thrill of watching particular animals mature and grow old.  For the wildlife photographer documenting the aging process is perhaps the ultimate big game thrill.