Battle of the Bulls

I took some time this evening to get back to processing some images from the September elk rut.  This year I was fortunate to encounter a number of bull fights.  Not that fights between bulls are uncommon but I have had trips where the action was always happening some place other than where I was.  As daylight faded the first evening of my trip a herd of cows with two bulls challenging each other had assembled on an open ridge top. 

While the one bull sported a beautiful even rack this aggressive fellow with his one large seven point antler and a broken stub was not about to back down and miss out on a season of mating.

And soon the battle was joined.

The bulls fought violently for a little over two minutes before they broke apart.  While the one bull would seem to have been handicapped with only one antler there was no apparent winner.

Assateague Morning

Assateague Sunrise

 

Looking back at our recent visit to Assateague Island these two images stood out for how they relate to the wildlife photographer.  To be successful as an outdoor photographer it is necessary to be out on location early in the morning and late in the evening to capture the best light of the day and when wildlife is most active.

Great Blue Heron

 

To successfully photograph wildlife one must often resort to the tactics of the Great Blue Heron; be in the right location and wait motionlessly until just the right moment to strike. 

A Golden Surprise: Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

 

Minutes after setting up to await the afternoon and evening whitetail rutting activity, the calling of crows drew my attention to my left.  Looking that way I spotted a large bird soaring above; a Golden Eagle!

Golden Eagle sightings in my neck of the woods are quite rare and up until just a few years ago I had never seen one.  Since that first sighting Willard and I have become accustomed to the occasional sighting of a golden from mid-autumn through early winter as the big raptors pass through on their southward migration.

Crows harassing a Golden Eagle

 

While any golden sighting is a surprise this one did not come as a complete surprise.  After the sun had set Wednesday evening, as the light was failing and Willard and I were packing up the photo gear, I heard a rush of wings overhead.  Looking up I spotted a very large bird swooping low, quickly disappearing behind the nearby tree line.   In the poor light I was unable to make a positive identification.  There was no doubt that it was an eagle and I was pretty sure that it was a golden and not an immature bald eagle.  Thursday afternoon’s sighting confirmed my suspicions. 



 



WIM: Whitetails in Motion

While shy and retiring most of the year, during the rut whitetail bucks are on the move.  With only a few weeks to find and mate with the does as each comes into estrus the bucks are busy warding off contenders, checking and refreshing scrape lines, and pursuing does.

 

Because of the low light levels during most of the whitetails active periods I usually focus on photographing deer as they pause for a moment,  However today, for a change of pace, I decided to crank up the ISO and shoot the action.

 

I hope you enjoy these shots of Whitetails in Motion

 

The Difference of a Year

November 2011

 

With our whitetail rut in full swing I have been spending nearly all of my free time in pursuit of this year's crop of bucks.  Refreshing ones memory from the photo archives of the previous years helps identify some individual animals.  While some whitetail bucks are rather generic and are difficult to identify from one year to the next; this buck is easily identified by his distinct coloration, facial characteristics, and body build.  During the rut the bucks travel outside of the area where they spend the remainder of the year.  That seems to be the case with this particular animal as it is only periodically during the rut that we encounter him; however Willard has photographed him on a couple of occasions during the summer feeding some miles away.

 

November 2012

 

Having the opportunity to photograph a small number of bucks over the course of a few years and documenting their development as they grow from young bucks into beautiful mature breeding bucks is a delightful part of my wildlife photography.  While following individual animals over the years is not to difficult in places like Shenandoah National Park; following them in hunting country is a different matter entirely as most are taken during the first year that they have legal antlers and of course their life is always in danger from poachers.  That's what makes a buck like this handsome fellow particularly special to me.

Yellow-rumped Warbler: Another Lifer

While I have photographed many species of birds, warblers have consistently eluded me.  However while watching rutting whitetails recently I noticed this unusual bird flitting about the underbrush.  Focusing the camera on it I noted the similarity to birds I had photographed earlier during my Assateague Island visit.  Checking references I have come to the conclusion that this bird is a male Yellow-rumped Warbler. 

 

 This image and the one following are the birds photographed at Assateague.

My guess is that either these are females or immature birds.  Perhaps a more accomplished birder than I can offer some suggestions as to which is the case.

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.

Thinking about the Elk

Today as I pursued rutting whitetails my mind would frequently wonder back to my recent trip in Pennsylvania's elk country.  With the exception of accidentally breaking a camera lens the trip was an excellent time afield with good friends, new friends, and a number of good bulls to photograph against the colorful autumn backgrounds.  While during the rut these animals allowed us to approach with little concern of our presence, today with the 2012 elk season opener they became legal game for the hunters.

 

The bull pictured here is known by the Pennsylvania elk photographic community as Limpy.  He has thrilled viewers and photographers for a number of years and I have had the pleasure of photographing him over the past four.  Photographing him the last morning of my visit, as he looked out across the foggy mountains he calls home, I could not help but wonder if this would be the last time I would see this majestic trusting animal.  The next few days will tell the tale as reports from the elk range begin to filter in.     

The Rut is On!

For the whitetail deer enthusiast there is no time in the life cycle of these magnificent animals to match that of the rut.  While quiet and retiring most of the year the rut brings on frantic activity as the bucks aggressively search out does willing to mate.  The first signs of the rut appeared early this year and now, a few days ahead of most years, the rutting activity is in overdrive.

 

Here is a handful of the bucks I have met over the past few days

 

 

Great Egret: Assateague Island

 Great Egrets were the most frequently sighted bird species during our visit to Chincoteage and Assateague.   Being white they were easily see stalking about the salt marshes whereas most other species could easily disappear in the dense vegetation.

The slow deliberate movements of a hunting egret makes them an easy target for the photographer although proper exposure can be problematic.  When shooting white subjects it is very easy to over expose loosing feather detail.

The best egret shot of the trip occurred when we spotted a bird perched on a pine blow-down.  The warm early morning sun illuminating the bird while the background remained in deep shadow made a perfect "natural studio".