This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
Whenever I photograph a bobcat I try to determine its sex. I usually get a good enough look to be able to tell. This one is obviously a male. Even if I couldn’t determine its sex in the normal way, I’d assume this one to be a male based simply on the shoulder muscles. For some reason, the vast majority of bobcats I see are males.
This photo was taken yesterday at Point Reyes National Seashore. It’s a great time to be out with a camera if you like to photograph wildlife. Members of the deer family are growing new antlers. Babies are being born, both predators and prey. I saw several elk calves yesterday. Wildflowers are also underway. If you look closely, you can see lots of douglas iris to go with the cow parsnip.
I like and enjoy seeing all wild birds. Okay, I’ll admit that I like some more than others. Take today’s photo for example. It’s not a bald eagle. It’s not a peregrine falcon. It’s not a great gray owl. It’s a red-winged blackbird. Still, I was happy to have the opportunity it gave me to photograph it and to try to create an attractive image.
This male northern harrier looks like he’s getting fed up with something — maybe me. Birds seem to look that way sometimes. It reminds me of the mad duck image I posted here. Maybe it’s more like: “Oh no, not you again.” It’s funny, herbivores often look like they are smiling. See my post on the bison calf below. Also, the cow elk here. Carnivores seem to have more of a poker face, but even with them I’ve seen what looked like a smile. I’m thinking of this one wolf that seemed to be smiling. See this link. Of course, I should mention the always-smiling porpoises and dolphins. And then there are the chimpanzees who not only smile, but laugh. Maybe I need to spend more time doing landscape photography.
This is one of two Columbia blacktail bucks I saw at Point Reyes yesterday. They were feeding in this tall grass. It’s just a matter of time until this lush grass dies and turns brown. I’m not sure how his ear got split, but I’m assuming it got caught between his horn and that of another while fighting. Ouch. His coat has changed, or is changing, into the darker summer color.
There are three things in the photo above that say it’s spring to me. The first thing is the flowers. The second is the change occurring in the elk’s coat from a warmer (longer), lighter-colored, winter coat to a cooler (shorter), darker, summer coat. The third thing is the early-stage growth of antlers.
During the winter season the Point Reyes tule elk shed their antlers. Almost immediately after shedding them they began growing new antlers. Under that velvet skin the antlers are engorged with blood. At this early stage you can easily see evidence of blood-rich tissue. Below is a cropped version of the above photo showing the blood-rich tissue.
One thing I like about photographing during the winter at Point Reyes is the lush greens in the ranching areas. The rainy season is just about over and it will be just be a matter of time before the greens turn to browns. I was fortunate to see and photograph this male bobcat several times this winter. He was almost always on lush, green grass. I’d like to tell him I’m grateful for that. I haven’t seen him lately. I hope he’s OK. If you’d like a print of this image click here.
A while back I decided to do a series of posters featuring birds of Western North America. They are carried by the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Novato. Recently, I decided to do one featuring the wildlife of Marin County which is the county I live in just north of San Francisco. I started off with the idea of just doing mammals, but that has grown to include birds of Marin. The posters are for sale now at the Viewpoints Gallery in Point Reyes Station. That little town is located near the entrance to Point Reyes National Seashore. They are also available at Fabulous Framers in Novato and will soon be available at Wild Birds Unlimited in Novato. As it has turned out, most of the subjects were photographed in Point Reyes National Seashore. Here is a sample of what the posters look like. My favorite bobcat is my poster boy for this sample.
