Jim Coda Nature Photography

June 30, 2024Badger

Badger Cubs, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of two badger cubs taken several days after their mother was hit by a vehicle and managed to crawl back to the den with a broken leg and possible other injuries.

When I arrived in Yellowstone on June 1, I was told there was a badger den with three little cubs just past Soda Butte and that the mother had been hit by a vehicle and suffered a broken leg and other possible injuries, but that she did manage to get back into her den. I looked for the den the next few days, but didn’t find it. I finally saw a badger den just past the Hitching Post pullout and quickly learned that that was the den the first person was actually talking about.

I photographed them on June 5 and 6, but never saw the mother. During the time I spent with them they never played with each other, but instead had their noses to the ground all the time. I think they were searching for food. To this day I don’t know the fate of the mother or the three cubs. However, I looked for them for the next week and never saw them as I drove by. It was a sad event. I hope someone has more updated news. I assume they all died, but would love to hear they all survived.

December 5, 2018December 21, 2018Bobcat

Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is a photo of a bobcat sharpening its claws.

Bobcat with Eye Injury

This is a much tighter crop than I would normally do, but I wanted to show you what appears to be a serious injury to this bobcat’s left eye. There is a black line that runs at a 45 degree angle in the eyeball. It may be blind in that eye. I’ve also seen two different badgers at Point Reyes with what seemed to have been serious eye injuries. One seemed to have no visible pupil in one eye and the other seemed to have no visible pupil in either eye. I assume the latter was totally blind. It had two cubs with it and it looked to be in good health.

I don’t know how these things happen, but one possibility is that they get poked in the eye by little bits of vegetation like broken branches or twigs.

May 23, 2012Uncategorized

Any Day in Yellowstone …

Photo of two black bear cubs. — “Put Yer Dukes Up.”

Any day in Yellowstone is a good day. That is especially true in the spring. In the six days I’ve been here I’ve seen numerous bears and several wolves. Black bears are so numerous that I’ve stopped keeping track of sighting them. I photographed the spring cubs above the first day. I haven’t seen nearly as many grizzlies, but I’ve seen two sows with one cub each and a few other adults. They tend to be much farther away than black bears.

It’s a little early for babies, other than bison calves and bear cubs, but a newborn elk calf was in hiding just inside the Roosevelt gate this afternoon. I’ve been looking for them and bighorn lambs and pronghorn fawns. News of the elk calf will get me looking for babies more intently. The elk calves and pronghorn fawns stay hidden most of the time for the first week or so, but the bighorn lambs can keep up with their mothers the day of birth as well as the bison calves. Deer fawns arrive about a month later.

I’ve had my eyes peeled for badgers, but haven’t seen any yet. I was telling a guy that two days ago and he told me he photographed three of them earlier that day. Needless to say, I’m looking harder now. I got really close to a sandhill crane today. I’ve also been photographing a lot of marmots. Like I said, any day is good in Yellowstone.

April 25, 2012May 26, 2018Landscape

Views from Inverness, California

I went out to Point Reyes yesterday, something I haven’t been doing too much of this year compared to last year. The forecast said there would be fog, but thankfully it was a no-show. Moreover, the light was fantastic thanks to lots of clouds varying from almost pure white to very dark. The sun shined through in spots on occasion. I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife; just the usual ho-hum critters (quail, songbirds, hawks, elk and deer) plus one coyote just before sunset. I had lunch with a friend who said he saw four bobcats before our lunch. Another friend told me he saw two badgers there yesterday. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m losing my touch in spotting wildlife because I haven’t been spending much time looking for them this year.

I was feeling uneasy all day because I only brought my wildlife gear and I sensed there would be some good landscape opportunities at sunset given the good light and the clouds. Shooting landscape photos with telephoto lenses is, needless to say, limiting. One thing I’ve been meaning to photograph is Black Mountain, which is a large coastal hill/mountain completely covered in grass. It is very green this time of year. I’ve also heard it referred to as Elephant Mountain. I made a mental note to stop in Inverness on my way home to see how it looked. I knew it was one landscape scene I could photograph using a telephoto lens. This is how it looked when I arrived in Inverness. The green grass of Black Mountain has been turned to gold by the setting sun. The water in the foreground is Tomales Bay. The green hills in the midground are not part of Black Mountain. I don’t know why it’s called Black Mountain.

Photo of Black Mountain from Inverness. — Black Mountain at Sunset

As I stood there in Inverness, I looked at the rest of the east horizon and saw a nice looking ridge well north of Black Mountain that was also bathed in the last light of the day. I don’t know the name for it, assuming there is one. There are two large structures at the top of it, unfortunately.

Photo looking east from Inverness, California — View to Northeast from Inverness

I was somewhat lucky yesterday which counterbalanced my poor planning in not bringing some landscape lenses. I was lucky in the sense that I made it to Inverness with about 5 minutes to spare before the sun’s golden light left these mountain tops.

May 5, 2011Uncategorized

Long-tailed Weasel; Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of long-tailed weasel peering out of a burrow. — Long-tailed Weasel on the Hunt

Long-tailed weasels are about as hard to find and photograph as badgers. This is the second one I’ve seen and been able to photograph at Point Reyes. I found it a few days after photographing the mother badger and her cubs. Every week should be so good.

February 14, 2011Uncategorized

Burrowing Owl, Point Reyes National Seashore

A burrowing owl stands atop a badger digging and scans its territory. — Burrowing Owl, Point Reyes National Seashore

I went out to Point Reyes recently looking for badgers and anything else worth photographing. I didn’t see any badgers. However, one benefit in looking for badgers is that you sometimes find burrowing owls using the badger holes or burrows. Most of the time when I spot a burrowing owl the only part of it I see is its head and yellow eyes staring at me. This owl was kind enough to do more than peek out the front door.

A burrowing owl stands atop a badger digging. — Burrowing Owl, Point Reyes National Seashore

I sometimes wonder what happens if burrowing owls go into holes that have badgers or weasels in them. I know I won’t stick my hand down one of those holes.