This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This bull was standing at about a 45 degree angle to the sun before it set. This made for some strong sidelight and backlight. He’s still wearing some of his winter coat. He looks very healthy, but I think he’ll have to undergo a big growth-spurt to have a chance to breed this fall.
I photographed this bull Tule elk in the Elk Reserve at Point Reyes National Seashore a couple of weeks ago. The bulls are dropping their antlers there now. This bull may no longer have his. If elk have egos I wonder how the bulls feel when they lose their antlers?
Those of us who live in the San Francisco Bay Area and like to see wildlife are very fortunate to have Point Reyes nearby. We are certain to see Tule elk and Black-tailed deer at Point Reyes. We have a very good chance of seeing coyotes and bobcats. We can see whales off the coast and marine mammals, such as elephant seals, on the shore. We can see all sorts of bird life, including peregrine falcons. I can’t think of another large metropolitan area that has all of these wildlife species nearby.
January 28, 20011. Two bull elk face each other before a post-rut sparring session.
They went at it for quite a while. There was a winner and I think they’ll each remember that. There won’t be much more fighting now because the bulls are dropping their antlers. However, come the next rut these two will probably go at it again.
Just before sunset, a bull elk looks across a field and sees another one of those creatures with only two legs.
This is one of the biggest bulls I’ve seen at Point Reyes. A large Tule elk bull will weigh about 600 pounds. While that may seem fairly heavy, Roosevelt (AKA Olympic) bull elk, which inhabit coastal forests from Northern California up into British Columbia, can weigh more than 1,000 pounds. The Rocky Mountain (AKA American) elk splits the difference. A Rocky Mountain bull elk can weigh up to 800 pounds. Rocky Mountain elk are by far the most numerous.
This 7-point bull is exhibiting the Flehmen Response with its head and upper lip raised. Certain species of mammals do this to increase their ability to detect and evaluate scent. It’s a common sight during the mating season, but it can occur any time of the year. This photo was taken in mid December, well past the end of the rut.
I saw this bull on my last trip to Point Reyes. He was in the elk enclosure at Pierce Point. I think the rut was over, but he was with a half dozen females.
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.
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.
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.
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.
