Thank a Poacher!

A young whitetail buck, hearty, healthy, and bursting with energy was busily engaged in the frantic activity of the rut.  Then his path crossed with that of some poachers.  With a sound somewhat like that of a limb breaking the bow unleashed its deadly dart and a split second later an arrow carrying a broadhead sliced through the upper part of buck's right leg.  Moments later the poachers sped away leaving their damage behind.  Now learning to deal with his disability the buck limps along on three legs and tires easily.  At times he will be seen kneeling to pasture and frequently lying down to rest. 

Will he recover or will he be crippled for the remainder of his life? Only time will tell.     

Shooting the Rut

November, for the Pennsylvania whitetail enthusiast no other month can compare. November is the month of the whitetail rut.  During the other months of the year the whitetail bucks live their lives in the shadows, staying hidden for the most part while feeding, resting, and just doing what bucks do.  But when the breeding season rolls around suddenly the bucks are on the move, traveling both day and night searching for does, sparring, bluffing, fighting, chasing does, mating with does........does, does, and more does!  Of course its actually all about next year's fawns, but for now the bucks minds centers on just one thing.  Does!

For me, this rut has been like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and all of the holidays rolled into one.  For the first time in my life I have been able to hunt (with camera) the rutting whitetails every day since the first stirrings of the rut became apparent.  Below are a few images from some of the exciting rutting activity I have captured in the past few days.      

Rutting On A Rainy Day

On a recent rainy day I spent nearly the entire day watching a meadow from the protection of an old hunting shack.  The shack's roof leaked a little but it provided adequate protection from the rain that varied from light drizzle to heavy downpours.  Because of the confined space the use of a tripod and the 600mm lens was out of the question.  The images shown here were all taken with a Canon 60d, Canon 100-400mm lens, supported by sandbags.  The highlight of the day came when an eight point buck mated with a doe as another eight pointer watched from a distance.  Equally as interesting was the little buck with an unusual pink nose who posed for a series of photos during a heavy downpour.

Bucks, Bees, Butterflies and Blooms

For the wildlife photographers in my neck of the woods November is the month of the whitetail rut.  The unseasonably warm weather of the last few days has slowed the daytime rutting activity but other unexpected photo opportunities have arisen.   I hope you enjoy viewing this mix of subject from the past few days.  

The Rut is on the Way!

As October draws to a close the first stirrings of the whitetail rut is beginning to appear.

Summer Whitetails

As the first day of summer nears and the daytime temperature reaches into the 90's, the whitetail deer are in their full summer pattern.  Adult bucks are traveling in bachelor groups and provide outstanding photo opportunities when encountered.  And the bucks are only part of the story for by now most of the season's fawns have been born and are beginning to travel about.  The following photos were captured while spending a few hours this morning sitting quietly between two creek crossings.  

Images from the Rut

With the whitetail rut in full swing I took off work this week.  Each morning and evening was spent watching for bucks and while I was not able to put any outstanding bucks in front of the camera there was enough activity to make the time enjoyable. 

 

I do miss those days of photographing the huge bucks of Shenandoah National Park but sadly those days are over and the deer herd is being "managed" by destroying what was possibly the very best place in the eastern US to photograph large bucks.  Whether one agrees or disagrees with what the National Park Service has done and plans on doing in the future make no difference, the incredible whitetail photograph at SNP is finished.  For a more in-depth look at the SNP situation click here.

 

Below are a few of the 2014 rut images I have gotten to date.  From chasing to threatening to posing with a freshly broken antler, the bucks of 2014 like there predecessors are busy ensuring the next generation of whitetail fawns.  

 

Wildlife Out In The Cold

 When the cold blast of winter sweeps across the land we have the option of heading indoors and cranking up the heat or bundling up in warm layers of clothing.

Wildlife on the other hand have no such options.  While some species migrate to warmer climes, wildlife such as the deer and turkeys must cope by using their naturally insulated coats and by searching out thermal cover during the night or on cloudy days and warm southern exposures on sunny days.  This young buck with frost on his head and neck demonstrates the incredible insulating ability of his dense winter coat.

 A small fawn of the year stands chewing her cud with frost clinging to her fluffy forehead. 

I photographed this gobbler during a snow flurry.  The turkey's feathers retains its body heat so well that the snow lying on his back does not melt.

 

While wildlife does not have the options to deal with winter that are available to we humans their options are sufficient to ensure the survival of species. 

 

 

Lip Curling Whitetails

The whitetail rut seems to have slammed to a stop this week.  This is normal; although in some years the activity continues strong up to the opening of rifle deer season, Saturday November 30th in Maryland and Monday December 2nd here in Pa.

 

The lip-curl is performed frequently by bucks during the rut as they test a doe's urine to determine her reproductive state.  The following images are a collection  of lip curls I photographed during the 2013 rut.

 

 

Running & Rutting

With the mating season peaking the normally reclusive whitetail bucks are very active and can be seen nearly any hour of night or day.  While I enjoy photographing whitetails any time of year there is no time like the rut to photograph and observe whitetail bucks.  Here a buck faces off with a smaller opponent.  Please note, this buck is not exhibiting aggression towards me but rather towards a buck just outside of the camera's field of view, note also that this shot as are most of my whitetail shot was made with a long telephoto lens; in this case I used a 600mm.  

The rut involves a lot of running and no doe is satisfied with a suitor until after she has led him and others on some long high-speed chases.

This fellow looks like he just kicked in the after-burner as he tries to catch up with a fleeing doe.

 

And finally when the time is right the chase stops.

 

When next June rolls around a new crop of  little spotted fawns, the results of this season's frantic activity, will arrive as a new generation continues the whitetails cycle of life.