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A Day at Point Reyes National Seashore

I went out to Point Reyes recently.  My friend Jeff joined me.  We hoped to find some owls and bluebirds to photograph.  We found this adult great horned owl and its mate and three young which we had seen before.  No luck with bluebirds.

A great horned owl roosts on a limb.
Great Horned Owl, Point Reyes National Seashore

Canon 500mm f/4, Canon 1.4 TC, Canon 7D

After a couple of hours Jeff decided to head back to his home in Inverness.  I decided to drive up to Pierce Point.  I saw some big bull elk there, but they were in a canyon and getting any decent photos of them would have involved a long, steep hike.  Not today.  I checked for bluebirds at that end, but didn’t see any.  I saw a couple of red-tailed hawks getting harassed by some ravens, but decided not to try for them.  I also saw signs of badger activity, but no badgers.

Driving back I saw something that looked like it might be a bobcat.  It was lying in some tall, light-colored vegetation.  I stopped.  It was about 40 yards away on the passenger side of the truck and almost completely obstructed by vegetation.  I was going to have to get out of the truck with my lens and tripod.  I slowly and quietly got out and set up my tripod and lens.  Fortunately, the bobcat hadn’t moved.  This wasn’t going to work.  There was too much vegetation between us for a decent photo.

A bobcat is lying down in tall grass.
Bobcat in the Grass, Point Reyes National Seashore

Canon 500mm f/4, Canon 1.4 TC, Canon 7D.

The bobcat didn’t seem too anxious to move.  I decided to wait him or her out.  I checked my gear and found I only had 11 exposures left on the card.   Glad I caught that.  After about 20 or 30 minutes the bobcat decided it was time to go.  It headed north parallel to the road and I quickly lost sight of it in the tall grass and brush.  I walked up the road and saw it had stopped behind a bush.   I waited for it to move and this time it took a step or two and then continued north.  This is the best image I got.

Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore
Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Canon 500mm f/4, Canon 1.4 TC, Canon 7D

Foiled by vegetation (again).   This is the fourth time I’ve photographed a bobcat in west Marin and each time has been frustrating.  They are beautiful animals.  Hopefully, some day I will get a good photo of one.  Look at how muscular its upper back and shoulders are.  They also have very long and muscular hind legs which is not so noticeable until you get a clear view of one sitting.

As I’ve said before in this blog, Yellowstone is my favorite place to photograph wildlife.  However, it’s nice to have places like Point Reyes nearby.

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A Week at Blacktail Pond (Continued from Yesterday)

Yesterday’s post ended with mama bear attacking her cub.  While I said that I thought it was probably because she was agitated over the wolf having been at the carcass, there is more to it than that.  The cub is 2 years old (actually 21/2 years old) and from mom’s point of view it’s about time for the cub to hit the road.  Biologically, she’s ready to mate again.  This fact is not lost on nearby male grizzlies.  Here is one suitor who has come calling.  The cub moved off when he came on the scene.

A grizzly sow and boar stand near a bison carcass in Blacktail Pond.
Grizzly Sow and Boar, Yellowstone National Park

The next time I saw the sow and boar they were in the act of mating a bit beyond the pond.  The cub was in the vicinity of the pond, but making sure it kept a good distance between itself and the boar.

As I mentioned before, there were other scavengers who benefited from the misfortune of the two bison.  One was a coyote who got some meat from the carcass on the east side of the pond and promptly left.  It probably felt that with grizzlies and wolves around it could find a better place to enjoy a meal than at Blacktail.

A coyote leaves Blacktail Pond with some meat from one of the bison that died in Blacktail Pond.
Coyote, Yellowstone National Park

I mentioned earlier that bald eagles and ravens also benefited from the misfortune of the bison.  I wasn’t sure I had any photos of them, but I looked and found one.

A raven harasses a bald eagle as it leaves Blacktail Pond.
Raven and Bald Eagle, Yellowstone National Park

This photo was quite underexposed probably due to the surface of the pond.  It also has some noise.  Note the blood on the beak of the eagle.

In addition to the wildlife, Yellowstone visitors benefited from the demise of the bison.  The Blacktail Pond area was crowded with visitors, and photographers in particular, for more than a week.

For the most part, these photos were taken under less than ideal conditions due to poor lighting and excessive distance.   The bear and wolf photos were shot at about 175 yards.   In my experience you can’t get good quality images at that distance.  The equipment used was as follows:  Canon 500mm f/4 lens; Canon 1.4 TC; Canon 7D.  I should also mention a book I have found to be very valuable in understanding bears in general and Yellowstone’s in particular.  The book is “Yellowstone Bears In the Wild.”  The author is James C. Halfpenny.  You can find it at almost any book store.  If you’re in Gardiner, Montana, you can pick up a copy of Jim’s book at The Paradise Gallery.  If you go there, you should also check out the wildlife photos on display by several wildlife photographers, including yours truly.

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A Week at Yellowstone’s Blacktail Pond

As I mentioned in my last blog, there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail Pond in the spring of 2010.  The first scavenger I saw there was a coyote who was standing on the carcass which was in the water next to the east edge of the pond.  However, it was the carcass in a narrow channel on the west side of the pond that became the center of attention for scavengers as well as park visitors.  The first species I saw feeding on that carcass was a grizzly sow with a two-year-old cub.  Here the cub nuzzles its mother.  It’s May 20.

A grizzly cub nuzzles its mother at Blacktail Pond.
Grizzly Sow and Cub, Yellowstone National Park

The sow and cub stayed on a ridge above Blacktail when they weren’t feeding on the carcass.  Another animal that I saw feeding on the carcass more than once was a lone wolf.  Here he is the next day standing at the narrow channel.  The bison carcass has slipped back into the water and is just under the surface.

A gray wolf stands on the edge of Blacktail Pond.
Gray Wolf, Yellowstone National Park

This wolf worked as hard as the bears to pull the carcass out of the pond and I was surprised that he seemed to get the carcass about as far out of the pond as the much larger bears, although in fairness to the sow she might have done better without her cub’s help because he always pulled at right angles to mom.

One afternoon the wolf howled after feeding which brought the sow and cub running full speed from the ridge above the pond.  Here is a photo of mom and cub right after they arrive at the carcass.  She is really “amped up,” over the wolf’s howls.  When the cub approached the carcass as she was trying to pull it up on the bank she attacked it.  More to follow.

A mother grizzly attacks her cub near a bison carcass at Blacktail pond.
Grizzly Sow Attacks Cub, Yellowstone National Park.
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The Bison of Yellowstone

In my last post about baby bison I said that seeing and photographing them gave me a new appreciation of the adults.  But for that I might not have stopped to watch and photograph this cow bison as she grazed on the succulent grasses in this pond.  I wonder what the starlings are saying?

A Cow Bson Feeds on Succulent Grasses in a Small Pond
Cow Bison, Yellowstone National Park

Bison sometimes get into trouble when they enter the waters of Yellowstone.  Not far from this tiny pond is Blacktail Pond.  At the time I took this photo (May 2010) there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail.  I’m not sure how they got in there, but once they got in they were in trouble.  Blacktail is much deeper than this little pond and it has very steep banks.  Because of its body shape, I think a bison would have a tougher time getting out of Blacktail Pond than any other species of Yellowstone.  Their deaths, however, provided needed protein for several predators this spring.  I saw grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, ravens and at least one coyote feed on those carcasses.

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Curious Bison Calf

Close up portrait photo of a bison calf.
Bison Calf, Yellowstone National Park

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of photographing at Yellowstone.  With each new trip I find new interests.  For example, I’ve never been very interested in photographing bison, but my last two visits have been in the Spring and that has meant baby bison.  I have found bison calves to be about as photogenic a subject as there is.   This little guy became very curious about me and kept moving closer for a better look.  How can you not like a face like this?  Spending time with the herds and watching these little “red dogs” run around and interact with other calves and their mothers has also given me a new interest in the adults.

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Grizzly Sow and Cubs Out for a Stroll

I had heard reports of a sow grizzly with four spring cubs in the Hoodoos area of Yellowstone.  I went there this morning hoping to see and photograph them.  Four cubs is very rare.

I was fortunate.  There they were.  Unfortunately, they were about 200 yards away and partly blocked by branches.  So, I waited.  And waited.  It was below freezing and very windy.  The wind was really pushing my big lens around, even with me steadying it.  Getting a sharp image was going to be a challenge.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, they moved into a relatively clear area.  I was hoping for a good composition.  Mom and cub 1, the runt of the litter on her back, and  cub 2 were cooperative; but cubs 3 and 4 were not.   This is one reason why photographing people is easier.

A sow grizzly walks with her four cubs in the Hoodoos area of Yellowstone.
Grizzly Sow and Four Cubs, Yellowstone National Park