Tag: pierce point ranch

Tule Elk

Elk Calf; Point Reyes National Seashore

This elk calf spent over an hour by itself exploring a stock pond near Pierce Point Ranch.
A young elk calf wades into a stock pond near Pierce Point Ranch.

I was out at Point Reyes yesterday and it was the first time this year I saw elk calves in the elk reserve/enclosure at Tomales Point.   I saw elk calves at Drakes Beach about a month ago.  The elk in the reserve seem to be about a month behind the Drakes Beach herd in mating and giving birth.

It seemed like there were more cows with calves than I’ve seen in years.  If true,  it could be because of the heavy winter rains.  I’ll be interested in seeing if the elk count shows more calves this year.

I saw this little guy wade into the pond.  I watched him for about an hour and I finally left.  His mom came to the pond a few times.  She called and seemed to want him to follow her, but he ignored her.  He roamed all over the pond; drinking water occasionally.

If you look closely you can see a lump on the bridge of his nose.  A cyst?  I don’t know.  Hopefully, it’s nothing serious.

Tule Elk

Two Young Bulls Debate Who Has the Right of Way on Game Trail, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of two tule elk bulls facing each other on a game trail.
“Outta My Way!”  “No, outta my way!”

Yesterday’s photo of the elk calf was taken an hour before sunset.  The light was still pretty strong as you could see.  This photo was taken at sunset and these young tule elk bulls are in the shade.  Much nicer light and color in the shade, especially at sunset.

Each of these young bulls has five points per antler.  Points are an indicator of age in elk.  According to the Park Service, one-year old bulls have a single spike.  Two-year olds usually have slender antlers with four  to five points.  Three year olds have thicker antlers with four to five points and four year old and older bulls usually have  six points on each antler and they get thicker each year.   Yellowstone Resources and Issues 2009 at p. 126.    While the Park Service document was focusing on Rocky Mountain elk, I don’t believe there is any difference with regard to the antlers of these tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore.

So, are these five-point elk two or three years old?  I’m not sure, but I’m guessing they are three year olds.  Their antlers aren’t that slender and I’ve seen bulls with skinny antlers and four or five points and they’re still hanging out with the cows and yearlings.  These guys in the photo are hanging out with the big six (and seven) point bulls.

Tule Elk

Tule Elk Calf, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of tule elk calf.
One of Many Tule Elk Calves, Pierce Point Ranch

At the end of my most recent day out at Point Reyes I did what I usually do, which is to drive out the Tomales Peninsula to the Pierce Point Ranch area to photograph the elk that move to the east side of the road in the last light before sunset.  It’s great that they do that because you can use your car as a blind and be fairly close to them.   That they cross the road then is crucial so you don’t have to shoot into the sun.

Luckily, the cow elk do this most of the time about an hour before sunset.  They were right on schedule that day.   There were about 50 cows and yearlings and another 20 to 30 calves.  I don’t recall nearly as many calves there last year.   If you want to photograph elk calves this is a good time to do it there.

Landscape

Point Reyes, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Point Reyes from the Tomales Peninsula.
Point Reyes

Have you ever been out on the coast on a foggy day when some cracks in the fog let the sun shine through?  This was one of those times.  I was driving back from the Pierce Point Ranch area just after lunch when I saw these sunspots on the ocean.

Addendum:  As I posted this WordPress informed me that this is my 200th blog posting.  I started this in May of 2010 as I was leaving on a trip to Yellowstone.   I didn’t know then if I would manage to keep doing it for very long.  I still don’t know.  Twenty two months isn’t that long, but it is a milestone of sorts.  We’ll see how long it goes.

Tule Elk

Bull Elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of big tule elk bull.
7-Point Bull, Tomales Peninsula

This photo was taken on February 22 near Pierce Point Ranch.  The bull is sporting a pretty impressive 7-point rack.  He won’t have those big antlers for long though.  I saw one of the Limantour herd bulls with only one antler that day.  It looks like antler-dropping season has begun.  Last year I posted a photo of a bull on February 15 whose antlers were gone and new antler growth was already quite visible.  To see that post click here.

Collecting antlers is illegal.  That doesn’t stop people though.  Antlers sold on the black market are worth a fair amount of money.  The Park Service goes out and tries to keep ahead of the collectors.  You may wonder what the Park Service does with the antlers.  The answer is that it grinds them up and puts them back in the areas where they found them because they are an important source of calcium and other minerals for rodents and other wildlife.  For a photo of an elk with a deer antler in its mouth click here.

It’s too bad people won’t just leave them where they’ve fallen, but they won’t.  As long as people want animal parts (tusks, horns, paws, teeth, gall bladders etc.), and are willing to pay for them, there will be people who will hunt for those parts even if it means killing the animals (which it usually does).  Unfortunately, this is the way it’s always been.

Tule Elk

Favorite Spot To Photograph Elk; Point Reyes National Seashore

photo of tule elk cow at sunset.
Tule Elk Cow at Sunset; Tomales Point Elk Preserve

I took this photo during the last hour of the day on the side of the road just before the Pierce Point Ranch complex.

The mile or so before the ranch complex is my favorite place in the Seashore for the end of the day.  The reason for that is that I can usually find some elk crossing from the west side of Pierce Point Road to the east side of the road then.  It’s easy then to position your car close to the elk and with the car between the setting sun and the elk.  The backgrounds are usually clean also.  Close-up photos like the above are easy there then.

Tule Elk

Tule Elk Cow, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of cow tule elk.
Caught with her Mouth Full

I drove out to Point Reyes recently.  Things look a little greener in places.  Red-tailed hawk numbers have increased.  The Pierce Point Ranch area was free of fog for a change.  This cow, along with some others, was grazing near the ranch.  I don’t particularly like the background (or foreground) in this photo, but I do like the expression on her face.  She is wondering what my intentions are and why she failed to see me until now.   Now if I were a mountain lion ….