SNP: Enjoying the View

Appearing much like a tourist, a small whitetail buck enjoys the view of the Shenandoah Valley from atop a high mountain scenic overlook.

While slowly driving along Skyline Drive on the lookout for large bucks Andy noticed a couple of young bucks at one of the many overlooks.

Normally I would have passed by these little guys without a second thought but with the picturesque valley below I wheeled into the parking lot hoping to capture a shot with the bucks as a foreground element. Racking the 100-400mm lens to its shortest length, setting the aperture to F9 to gain increased depth of field I began shooting. When this buck came to attention looking out over the vast expanse of the valley below I knew I had captured “The Shot” and was content to fold up the tripod and move on.

SNP: Tuesday Morning

Once again the alarm jolted me from sleep at an ungodly early hour reminding me that it was time to get moving if I were to make it to Shenandoah National Park in time for the whitetail activity. Twenty minutes later Andy pulled in the driveway and by 2:30am we were headed south. With fifty odd miles of secondary roads to traverse before reaching I-81 it was necessary to keep our speed in check because of the increased deer activity this time of year. Motoring out of Pennsylvania, across Maryland, West Virginia and on into Virginia our headlights frequently illuminated whitetail deer feeding along the roadside.

Expecting to find the SNP Whitetails rutting we were somewhat disappointed with the mornings activity as the deer were mostly feeding and for the most part only small bucks were able to be seen.




Soon after photographic light arrived we spotted this young buck feeding beneath an evergreen in the lower end of Big Meadows. When I saw the buck positioned here I knew exactly how I wanted to make the shot. During one of my visits last year I had noticed the potential of this tree silhouetted against the morning sky. That time no deer were present under it boughs, today there was!

Now if only we can get Andy to post some of his shots from the morning :)

Note: This image was made while the sun was still beneath the horizon with the exposure set for the sky. 135mm focal length, f5.6, 1/3200 sec, ISO200.

Whitetail Fight

The Whitetail rut is in full swing now and bucks are easier than ever to see as they search for willing does. I photographed the following series this morning of a pair of young bucks engaged in a contest of strength and skill.

Upon reviewing my images I found that the fight had lasted ten minutes during which I had shot over 160 images. The incident ended with the larger buck slowly following the smaller as he relinquished the field.

SNP Friday: Second Buck Encounter

A short time after leaving the nice 8pt. posted yesterday Willard & I were driving down Skyline Drive south of the meadow when a large doe leapt into a small opening along the road side. Running with the classic whitetail doe “a buck is chasing me” gait I pulled off the road and we readied the photography gear.


Soon a piebald spike hurried into the opening and then abruptly turned and stopped in the shade along the tree line.

A moment later the cause of all the commotion arrived on the scene in all of his antlered glory, one of the largest bucks I have ever encountered.

The big guy decided to cross the road quite near our position giving the opportunity for a close-up shot before plunging into the thickets on the other side.

SNP: Rutting Whitetails

Arriving at Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park, in the predawn darkness Willard and I were greeted with gusty winds and subfreezing temperatures; perfect conditions for the Whitetail rut. Our expectation for the morning's shoot ran high but not high enough to keep the chill away as we readied the photography gear.


Our first encounter was with this fine eight point buck at the lower end of the meadow. With the buck on the skyline I overexposed this shot 1.3 stops to capture detail.

While photographing the nice 8pt buck that had moved into the woods following the previous shot, this smaller buck approached from behind. Apparently he had just given an evergreen a good thrashing as he was still carrying a branch lodged in his antlers.

While photographing him I could not help but chuckle to myself wondering if he had added the evergreen bough to his head gear to increase his sex appeal or if he were wearing it as camouflage to hide from the big bucks.

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Thoughts on the Pennsylvania Elk Hunt

Bull #36, AKA Fred or Fred Jr. resting during the recent breeding season


Many wanted to hang his head on their wall when he was in his prime even though he had absolutely no fear of humans and was the main tourist attraction at the time.

Not hunted for over seventy years the elk hunt began anew in 2001. In the late 1990’s the then executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission pulled out all of the stops in his attempt to establish the modern day elk hunt. I recall a statement he once made that if we didn’t establish a season soon that it may become impossible to ever have a hunt. This was done at a time when elk tourism was building rapidly and I concluded from the statement that if the commission did not act quickly that those who consider the elk a state treasure to be preserved and viewed would prevail.

In regards to my previous post one commenter mentioned “follow the money” so bear with me for a moment while we do just that.

Information gleaned from the current elk management plan sites two studies relating to elk tourism, Page 20 under the subtitle Viewing the plan states;

"Pennsylvania’s elk herd is the eastern most free-ranging herd in the United States. The herd attracts thousands of wildlife watchers each year. During 1987 an estimated 7,200 recreational visitor days (RVD) and $11.85 per day per viewer were spent by the public viewing elk in Pennsylvania (Shafer and Wang 1989). The economic value of the viewing experience; i.e. the amount the public was willing to pay, was estimated at $147,096 (Shafer and Wang 1989). The number of visitors traveling to Pennsylvania’s elk range has increased dramatically since 1987. It is not uncommon to see 1000 vehicles per weekend day on Winslow Hill, during the fall rutting season. Winslow Hill is the PGC elk viewing area because of the increased likelihood of seeing elk compared with the rest of the Elk Management Area. In 1997, Penn State University reported 76,000 visitor days with approximately $17.11 spent per day ($1.3 million total) (Strauss 1999). This figure has likely increased since the study was conducted. The influx of tourists within the Elk Management Area has benefited the local economy through lodging and meal expenditures, and the purchase of fuel, groceries, and sporting goods. "

Their can be no doubt that the number of tourist visiting the elk range has increased since the latest study over a decade ago and that the economic impact is much greater now. Speaking from personal experience it is difficult to get by today on less than $100 per day when one considers meals, fuel, and minimal lodging.

Now let us consider the hunt. The elk licenses are awarded by drawing to applicants who have paid a $10 non- refundable application fee. Currently the number of applicants average around 20,000 ($200,000) annually. Successful applicants then must purchase a license which cost $25 for residents and $250 for non-residents. This year 59 licenses were awarded by drawing. I do not know the breakdown between resident and non-resident.

Some hunters retain a local guide which ups their cost considerable. Hunters also require meals and lodging for the duration of the hunt which can last up to six days.

Lets do the number and error on the high side.
Expenditures per hunter
$25 license
$2000 guide
$1000 lodging
$300 meals
$500 misc.

$3825 Total per hunter X 59 = $225,675 + $200,000 application fees = $425,675

Compare that rosy hunt economic total to the tourist generated value from 12 years ago of $1.3 million.




There is no doubt that the elk management is not a choice between ecotourism and hunting but rather a reasonable balance between the two. Pennsylvania is currently attempting to have its cake and eat it to by killing the same mature bulls that are being promoted to draw tourist dollars to the area.

Increasing the size of the no-hunt zone and surrounding the no-hunt zone with a very sizable population control zone (cow hunt only) would do much to allay many of the current concerns.

For those of you who may not know where I stand on hunting, allow me to state my position. I have hunted since I was old enough to tag along behind my grandfather. That has been over four decades now and I continue to participate in consumptive hunting although to a much lesser degree since my interest has turned to hunting with the camera.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker clings to a dead tree



Taking a break from feeding the woodpecker surveys his surroundings

Tonight I am suffering from blogger’s block and cannot think of anything interesting to write about the woodpeckers or this encounter.

Instead my mind keeps wandering to the Pennsylvania Elk Range where early (unconfirmed) reports from the hunt being held there indicate that the dominate 8X9 who entertained and thrilled countless people at the Gilbert Viewing area during the rut was killed on Monday.

Why these bulls that frequent the tourist area must be subjected to the annual hunt totally escapes me. No warier than a barnyard cow, there can be no sport or challenge what so ever in the hunt; only the thrill of watching a magnificent animal crash to the ground. Other bulls will replace him that I know, but just knowing that his life has violently ended for no good reason leaves me saddened.

Muskrat Lodge

Muskrat lodges are uncommon in my area; this is the first one I have ever encountered locally. The muskrat populations here normally utilize stream bank holes so I was pleasantly surprised when I located this lodge during a recent outing.

The muskrats utilized an overturned stump to firmly anchor their structure, the roots of which can be seen protruding from the lodge.

This scene was photographed from a few inches above water level under a heavy cloud cover with light rain falling. The moisture helped to saturate the colors present in the scene as well as did the circular polarizer used to minimize the glare on the water.

Hit & Miss: White-throated Sparrow

Photographing wildlife is always a hit or miss situation. Lighting or lack thereof plays a huge part as well as the often uncooperative nature of the subjects.

With the little White-throated Sparrow flitting about the nearby underbrush while the sun was hiding behind a heavy cloud cover I simply could not pass up the opportunity. Shooting at ISO250 I was well aware that many shots would be failures for like most songbirds these little critters do not sit still for long.

This shot was the best of the session with the bird sharp and well posed

Failures typically get the delete button treatment but for a change I though I would share a couple of cool ones with you. This was the last shot I captured as this sparrow departed the briars.

I call this shot the ball-head, another failure but my wife thought it was pretty cool

The Rut Begins

The Whitetail pre-rut is kicking into gear here in southcentral Pennsylvania. Bucks are now scraping, checking their scrapes and following does in hopes of finding one in estrus.

The young buck pictured here is exhibiting the classic flehmen behavior. For a full description of this and for much better photographs of a huge buck exhibiting visit my brother Willard's blog.

For those of you, who live and drive in whitetail territory, drive carefully as the deer are becoming much more active particularly at dusk, dawn and throughout the night. Few things will ruin your day or the deer’s much quicker than to be driving when in your peripheral vision you see a flash of brown followed by a sickening crash. The damage they can do to an automobile is incredible not to mention the damage to the deer itself.

Drive carefully and enjoy the Rut, the most interesting time of the year in Whitetail Country.