Jim Coda Nature Photography

August 8, 2010Uncategorized

Another Bobcat

I decided to go out to Point Reyes National Seashore last Friday to see what was going on there. My main hope was to get a good photo of a bobcat. I don’t think I’ve been out there since late June when I was fortunate enough to see and photograph one. Not long after leaving the house I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. It was a bobcat sitting in a farm field.

A Bobcat sits in a field in Marin County, California — Bobcat, Marin County, California

Lucky me. I wanted to stop, but couldn’t. The road’s shoulders were steep and narrow and there were cars going in both directions. I drove about a quarter mile to where I could turn around and drove back. The bobcat was still sitting there. I drove past it to a spot where I could pull off the road. Some trees screened me from the bobcat. I usually don’t assemble my gear until I get to Point Reyes. My gear was all neatly stowed away and I’d have to pull the big lens out, attach the Tele-converter and camera body to it and then attach my Wimberley head to the tripod and extend its legs and attach the camera/lens to it. I also noticed I hadn’t put a flash card in the camera. (Good thing I noticed that then.) After what seemed like forever I had everything together and walked quietly along the trees to where they ended hoping the bobcat would still be there. It was. I shot several frames before the bobcat turned and looked at me. It let me shoot about 30 more frames and then decided that it didn’t like the fact that I was staring at it and not moving. It finally decided it had had enough of me and split.

It was a good day regardless of what I’d see at Point Reyes. As I drove on to Point Reyes I vowed to be ready to photograph when I left home from now on. That bobcat could have moved on while I was fumbling with my gear. Next time it could be the holy grail — a mountain lion. One was spotted near here a year ago.

July 10, 2010Uncategorized

Oddities of Nature

Have you ever seen something in nature that struck you as odd? In May of 2009 I saw something that I thought was very odd. I was driving into Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley from the west and off to my right not far from the Lamar River I saw a large nest atop a dead tree. My first thought was that it was probably an osprey nest or maybe a bald eagle nest. I slowed down and pulled over. I could see there was something in the nest, but it was too far to see what it was exactly. I decided to grab my big lens and tripod and hike closer to the nest. After a bit I stopped. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like a Canada goose. I looked through my lens. It was a Canada goose.

A Canada goose sits in a raptor nest in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.

This was a new one for me. Canada geese nest on the ground, usually in wetlands. What was this one doing up in a raptor’s nest? Maybe it had learned the hard way that eggs laid on the ground in the Lamar Valley don’t last long. I checked every day for over a week and there was always a goose in the nest. There had to be eggs there. Will the eggs fare better in a raptor’s nest at the top of a tall tree? Maybe. Maybe not. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, Canada geese don’t feed their young like birds of prey do. The goslings will have to get down to the ground and to the river soon after they hatch. I know some waterfowl species like wood ducks nest in tree cavities and the young drop down to the ground, but this is a very tall tree and the branches extend well away from the trunk, especially in the lower portion of the tree outside the framing of the image. Finally, how will they walk across all those branches with their webbed feet?

Osprey in Nest at Tree Top in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley — An osprey is back in possession of the raptor nest a year later.

When I returned to Yellowstone in May of this year I looked to the nest as I entered Lamar Valley. There was a bird in it again. This time it was an osprey.

I’ve often wondered what happened to the offspring of the Canada geese. Did the eggs survive to hatching? If so, did the goslings make it safely down the tree and to the river? I guess I’ll never know.

June 28, 2010Uncategorized

Anniversary of Delisting of Bald Eagle

One bald eagle bites another. — One Bald Eagle Bites Another.

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.

June 25, 2010Uncategorized

Black Bear Sow and Cub, Yellowstone National Park

A black bear sow and her cub take a nap near Calcite Springs. — Nap Time

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”?

May 22, 2010Uncategorized

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

May 17, 2010Uncategorized

Life Is Not Perfect and that Includes Yellowstone

THis cinnamon-colored black bear has something wrong with its left elbow. He can't straighten it. — Cinnamon Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

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.

May 13, 2010Uncategorized

Yellowstone, America’s Best Wildlife Park

I’m in Yellowstone. One of the things I like about it is you never know what you’ll see next. It reminds me of that line in Forrest Gump when he quotes his mom: “Life was like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” I don’t know of a better place to photograph wild mammals in the United States than here.

One of my favorite animals to photograph (and simply observe) here is the bighorn sheep. This ram was using this big rock to scratch himself. He started with his right side; then he did his left side, as you can see here; and finished by with his hindquarters. If you look closely you can see the hair he left behind on the rock.

For a larger version of this photo you can check my website under “new Images” and/or “Bighorn Sheep.” www.jimcoda.com

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