Tag: point reyes national seashore

Bobcat, Coyote, Tule Elk

A Day At Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat.
A Bobcat Daydreams.

I went to Point Reyes a couple of days ago.  It had been a while.  When I arrived I quickly spotted a bobcat.  It was too far to photograph so I waited a bit to see if it would move my way.  It didn’t so I drove on.  I quickly spotted another a short distance past the first one.  See photo above.  He looked like a bobcat I used to see and photograph frequently on another ranch in 2011.  I decided to try to get closer to him.  Just as that thought came to mind a coyote moved into view behind the bobcat.  I focused on the coyote and it was quickly joined by another.  And then another.  That’s right, a pack of coyotes.  I’ve seen three coyotes together several times before at Point Reyes and assume these guys are the ones I’ve seen previously.  Usually, I only see a single coyote.

I wondered whether the bobcat saw them and so pulled my eye away from the camera back to look at him.   He certainly had.   He was doing a fast crawl toward me and my car and his belly was almost touching the ground. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph him as he was already very close to the rear of my car.   I re-focused on the coyotes.

Photo of three coyotes feeding.
Hunting for Food

They were feeding on something in the soil.  I’ve seen this behavior before.  They’re definitely not feeding on rodents.  I think they’re after insects, or maybe worms, and it might be that they’re finding them under cow pies.  I’ll have to start kicking over cow pies and checking them and also checking the soil under them.  Really.  I’m curious.

After photographing these coyotes, mostly as individuals, I headed for Drake’s Bay.  One thing I look for on that trek is elk along the road to Drakes Bay.  Sure enough, a herd of bulls was hanging out not far from the intersection of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and the road down to Drakes Beach.  Two of the dozen or so bulls were in the pasture closest to Sir Francis Drake Blvd.  I wondered how they had gotten into that fenced pasture.  My first thought was they got through a break in the fence.  Then one of them started walking along the fence that separated the two pastures.  I figured the fence may be damaged somewhere along there.  I also wondered if it could jump the fence.  It looked pretty high to me.  See photo below.  It’s looks like it’s a few inches below the bull’s jaw.  I was a little worried because many wild mammals have died trying to cross fences.

Photo of bull elk abut to jump a fence.
Will He Jump?

After a moment or two I decided it wasn’t going to jump soon so I started photographing the others.   As often happens with my luck, it jumped right after I took my eyes off it.  So, I decided to stick with it and watch the other bull to see if it would jump.

A bull elk jumps over a fence.
Up and Over

By sticking with it I was rewarded.  He cleared it no problem.  Like I said though, sometimes they don’t.  I don’t think a deer could clear that. Whenever I see them cross fences they go between the strands of wire.   I’ve noticed at Point Reyes that the fencing seems to vary all over the place in terms of how high the top wire is and how low the bottom wire is.  A good wildlife fence shouldn’t be too high on the top strand or too low on the bottom strand so wildlife can go over or under them.   There are several articles on the internet about constructing livestock fences that are wildlife friendly.  For one such article click here.  As the article points out, top wires should never exceed 42 inches in height and bottom wires should never be lower than 16 inches.  Preferably, the top and bottom wires should be smooth, not barbed.

Tule Elk

Bull Elk in Velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

hPoto of bull tule elk in velvet
The Life Cycle Continues

I was out at Point Reyes recently.  The male elk are all sporting new antlers covered in velvet.  They’re also still shedding their lighter-colored winter coats.  This bull was in the Tule Elk Preserve.  He was in a group of about 20 bulls.

I didn’t get a clear look at all of them, but three of them, and possibly a fourth, looked like they were suffering from diarrhea.  That made me wonder if they had early-stage Johne’s Disease, which leads to death.  For an earlier discussion of Johne’s Disease at Point Reyes, click here.

Landscape

Point Reyes Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Ten Mile Beach.
A Portion of Point Reyes Beach, Looking North

Point Reyes Beach begins at the Lighthouse area and runs for 10 miles in a northerly direction.  It is also called Ten Mile Beach (no surprise) and The Great Beach.    A better name might be Caution Beach because it can be a dangerous place.  A number of people have died along this stretch due to sneaker waves.  I believe it has also seen a number of shipwrecks.  I witnessed the crashed remains of one myself roughly 25 years ago.  I spoke to the survivors.  They were starting out on a voyage around the world.   They started from Oregon or Washington, I don’t recall for sure.  They didn’t get far, but the family survived.

Landscape

Tree-Shrouded Entry; North District Operations Center, Point Reyes

This is a photo of the long entry to the North Ranger Station at Point Reyes.
Shady Lane

I drive by this entry road every time I go to Point Reyes National Seashore.  I often think to myself that I should photograph it.  I finally did.  I don’t know exactly what goes on there, but I see Rangers go in and out so I assume the Park Service Rangers have an office there.  There’s no sign saying “Public Welcome,” but then there’s no sign saying “Stay Out” either. Some day I’ll have to go in there and find out more.

Bobcat

Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat loping across a meadow.
Gopher-Getter!

I went out to Point Reyes today.  It was a beautiful day.  The temperature was in the mid-60s and the place was very crowded.  It was a slow day for me photography-wise.  Fortunately, near the end of the day this male bobcat saw me and decided I needed some cheering up.  So, he decided to walk toward me rather than make the normal quick exit in the opposite direction.  Thanks “Bob.”

Coyote, Grizzly Bear, Other Bird, Pronghorn

My 10 Favorite Wildlife Photos of 2012

About a year ago I posted a blog with my 10 favorite wildlife photos from 2011.  Here are my 10 favorites for 2012.  Most of this year’s photos are from Yellowstone.

Photo of a female red fox with her kits.
Mom and the Kids

Finding and photographing this red fox vixen and her two kits was the best part of my trip to Yellowstone last spring.

Photo of red fox kits at play.
Fox Kits at Play

Baby animals are usually photogenic and these two certainly were.

Photo of pringhorn doe nursing her fawn.
Feeding Time

While on the subject of baby animals, this doe pronghorn kept her two fawns right around the Roosevelt Arch for a week or more.  They stopped a lot of cars.

Photo of a young grizzly bear.
A Grizzly Daydreams

This grizzly bear spent several days in May on the slopes above Yellowstone’s Soda Butte Creek feeding on grass, roots and whatever other vegetative material grizzlies feed on in the spring.

Photo of a grizzly bear.
Sad Looking Young Grizzly

I spent a fair amount of time photographing this bear.  It often looked sad to me.  I think it was a young bear and perhaps it was its first spring without its mother.

Photo of a mountain bluebird on a sage plant.
Mountain Bluebird on Sage

I always see mountain bluebirds in Yellowstone in the spring, but until this past May I’ve never really had any good opportunities to photograph them.  They seem to be constantly on the move.  This May was different.  They hung around.

Photo of a sandhill crane standing in a patch of sage.
A sandhill crane hunts in the sage.

There are always some sandhill cranes in Yellowstone in the nesting season.  They usually tend to be far off though.  You often hear them calling before you even spot them.  I was lucky here.

Photo of a male yellow-headed blackbird singing for a mate.
Love-sick Yellow-headed Blackbird, Yellowstone National Park

I don’t recall  ever having seen a yellow-headed blackbird in Yellowstone before this spring.  This male was singing to attract a mate I assume.  I spotted him while driving the road to the Slough Creek Campground.

Photo of white-crowned sparrow.
White-crowned Sparrow, Point Reyes National Seashore

There are a lot of white-crowned sparrows in Point Reyes National Seashore in the winter.  This male saved what was otherwise an uneventful day.

Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a coyote staring at the camera.
Coyote Portrait

The coyotes I see in the ranching areas of Point Reyes are pretty wild.   By that I mean they don’t stick around when they see a human.  This individual was different.  He was comfortable with my photographing him.  He may have previously lived in an area with heavy human recreation use.

Point Reyes is my local Yellowstone.  It has a wide variety of wildlife considering where it is located.  No bison or moose, but it has elk and deer.  No wolves or bears, but it has coyotes, bobcats, badgers and one or more mountain lions.  You’ll see elk as easily as in Yellowstone and deer more easily.   You’ll see coyotes as easily as in Yellowstone and bobcats much more easily.

Well, that’s it.  My 10 favorites for 2012.  If you’d like to see my 10 favorites for 2011 click here.

Tule Elk

What’s Wrong with this Tule Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore?

Photo of an elk showing signs of Johne's Disease.
This elk’s ribs are sticking out and it has diarrhea.

This elk looks like it is starving, yet it has plenty of food in the Tule Elk Reserve at Tomales Point.  I’m not an expert, but the most likely cause of this animal’s condition is Johne’s Disease.

Johne’s (pronounced “Yo-nees”) Disease is a bacterial disease that affects the small intestine of ruminants (cows, sheep, elk, deer etc).  It is caused by Mycobacterium  avium paratuberculosis (“MAP”).  It embeds itself in the wall of the lower part of the small intestine.  As an immune response, the walls of the small intestine become thicker.  This thickening prevents the absorption of nutrients.  As a result, the animal loses weight and dies.   It is believed to have started in Europe and it is now a world-wide problem.  Sixty-eight percent of dairy herds in the United States are infected with MAP.  MAP leaves or exits infected animals in feces and milk.  It can survive outside a host animal for up to a year.  Even if the mother is not infected, her young can acquire it from her teats if they are contaminated with MAP-carrying manure.  Once it is in a herd it is virtually impossible to remove.  The above info was obtained from the following sites:  site1, site2.

NPS is aware that the herd is infected with Johne’s disease.  I don’t know to what extent research has been done on the herd.  Some of the questions I have wondered about are:   How many of the elk that die each year at Point Reyes die from MAP?  The herd at the Tule Elk Preserve does not seem to be growing.  What role does MAP play in that?  The Limantour herd came from the Preserve.  Is the mortality rate the same for both herds?  How many dairy ranches at Point Reyes have MAP-infected herds?  Is MAP increasing at Point Reyes?

Photo of elk with signs of Johne's Disease.
Rear view of the same elk in the first photo.