This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
Today is the third anniversary of the removal of the Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species List. This is one of the greatest success stories under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way.
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.
A black bear sow and her spring cub take a rest near Calcite Springs. I saw them several times in mid May between Calcite Springs and Tower Falls. I wonder if the sow is a descendant of that well-known and much-loved bear known as “Rosie”?
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.
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.
I’ve been to Yellowstone many times, but this is the best trip of all. There has been so much going on. The problem with that is that it has caused me to fall behind in writing about all of it.
A few days ago there was a cow elk at Twin Lakes that had been chased by a single wolf. She escaped by running into the water and going far enough into the water that the wolf had to swim, which greatly reduced its ability to kill . He did manage to bite her in the right flank before that though. Here she is licking her wound in shallower water. As it became dark she walked into the woods where I assumed the wolf was waiting. I don’t know why she did that.
The next morning I returned to Twin Lakes and found that the wolf had made the kill. Here he stands not far from the carcass. Note the radio tracking collar.
Yesterday was a good day for bear sightings. I saw seven black bears and one grizzly. One of them I know I saw and photographed before because he has a something wrong with his left front leg. It seems the elbow is locked. Sometimes he puts it and his whole foreleg on the ground when he walks and other times he puts just his paw on the ground. Either way he is unbalanced with that locked elbow. When he goes downhill he just raises his left foreleg and sort of “hops” downhill.
This is the second animal I’ve seen in the last week with a significant problem. The other was a cow bison with calf. The cow never put her left hind leg on the ground. If a grizzly goes after her calf she won’t be able to move well enough to try to fend the grizzly off.
Life can be tough. I hope they both make it.
