This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This tule elk calf is big enough to run with the adults so it no longer needs to hide for periods of time. It was the only calf with a group of 25 adults and yearlings. Most of the cows with calves that I’ve been seeing are staying farther away from the road than the other elk.
I’ve seen this coyote a number of times. He’s easy to identify because he has a slight limp due to some injury to his right foreleg. I first saw him around Pierce Point Ranch months ago. Later I saw him on the mid-peninsula. Lately, I’ve been seeing him at the south end. He seems to have found a home there. On the other hand, maybe he’s been a long-time resident there and I only first noticed him and his limping gait at Pierce Point. Maybe he was just traveling then in search of better territory or a mate or both. I wondered then whether the limp would affect his ability to survive. I watched him “mousing” at Pierce Point and the limp didn’t affect his ability to jump (and land) in hunting rodents. In fact, he was very successful. It seems to only affect his ability to run fast. Good news for the rabbits. He looks healthy to me. He’s making it.
I liked the lichen-covered post this guy hopped up on at the Pierce Point Ranch parking lot. I didn’t like the fact that I had to shoot into the sun though. That made for some tough backlighting.
I don’t know why male California quail always like to be perched on something above the ground while the rest of the covey remains on the ground. I’ve never seen a female on a post. Maybe the males do it to protect the females and young. That way they’re in a position to see anything dangerous approaching and can let out a warning call in time to save the others. Maybe they like being in a high place because it’s safest for them. I’d like to think it’s the former.
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.
The times I’ve seen these sparring sessions they only last a few seconds. I saw a video once where two deer threw rapid punches for quite a while. Maybe I’ll witness one of those with the elk. What I like about this particular moment is the expression on the young bull’s face. I wonder what he’s thinking? Maybe it’s “You’re next buster.”
This owl was in a tree next to the road to Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore has a healthy population of great horned owls. The ranching portion of Point Reyes is mainly made up of grazing lands. These lands have a fairly high population of gophers and other rodents. They are also punctuated by stands of mature trees. Find a stand of mature trees and you’ll find a pair of great horned owls.
This little fawn and its sibling were taking their time playing as they made their way to a bush to hide behind until their mother came back to get them. It may have sensed me after a bit because it went from care-free to stealth-mode very quickly. Once they got behind a single yellow bush lupine I could not see either fawn. The mother didn’t seem concerned. She knew I was about 40 yards past the fawns from her perspective. Her grazing carried her about 100 yards from the fawns, but all she did was occasionally look back at us. Very trusting. Maybe too trusting.
The foreground and lighting would not be my first choice here, but with wildlife photography you have to make do with what you’re given.
