Jim Coda Nature Photography

November 17, 2011May 26, 2018Rocky Mountain Elk

Big Bull Elk, Yellowstone National Park

This is the largest bull elk I saw this fall in Yellowstone. He and his harem were located south of Swan Lake. There seems to be something wrong with his right eye. He may be blind in that eye. Bulls suffer many injuries during the rut. This past fall I saw several bulls limping due to shoulder injuries. One Yellowstone bull was famous for attacking cars. He was know by his ear tag as #6. For more about him and his demise click here.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that the rut seemed slow to me this past September in Yellowstone and wondered if it was due to weather that seemed warmer than usual for that time of year. There may have been other factors. I just found an article in the Huffington Post from last January that reported that the Yellowstone herd was down about 25% from the previous year due to several possible factors, including weather, increased hunting success due to November snow storms that pushed more elk than usual out of the park during the hunting season, and wolves. Less accurate counting may have also been a factor.

Speaking of elk, I just finished upgrading the Rocky Mountain Elk Portfolio on my website. You can see that portfolio here.

February 22, 2011Uncategorized

Bobcats Are Special

A bobcat looks for its next meal. — Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

I enjoy seeing and photographing all wildlife, but some species are more special than others to me. Bobcats are one of those species, along with wolves, bears and eagles. I’ll never get tired of photographing them.

June 22, 2010Uncategorized

A Week at Blacktail Pond (Continued from Yesterday)

Yesterday’s post ended with mama bear attacking her cub. While I said that I thought it was probably because she was agitated over the wolf having been at the carcass, there is more to it than that. The cub is 2 years old (actually 21/2 years old) and from mom’s point of view it’s about time for the cub to hit the road. Biologically, she’s ready to mate again. This fact is not lost on nearby male grizzlies. Here is one suitor who has come calling. The cub moved off when he came on the scene.

A grizzly sow and boar stand near a bison carcass in Blacktail Pond. — Grizzly Sow and Boar, Yellowstone National Park

The next time I saw the sow and boar they were in the act of mating a bit beyond the pond. The cub was in the vicinity of the pond, but making sure it kept a good distance between itself and the boar.

As I mentioned before, there were other scavengers who benefited from the misfortune of the two bison. One was a coyote who got some meat from the carcass on the east side of the pond and promptly left. It probably felt that with grizzlies and wolves around it could find a better place to enjoy a meal than at Blacktail.

A coyote leaves Blacktail Pond with some meat from one of the bison that died in Blacktail Pond. — Coyote, Yellowstone National Park

I mentioned earlier that bald eagles and ravens also benefited from the misfortune of the bison. I wasn’t sure I had any photos of them, but I looked and found one.

A raven harasses a bald eagle as it leaves Blacktail Pond. — Raven and Bald Eagle, Yellowstone National Park

This photo was quite underexposed probably due to the surface of the pond. It also has some noise. Note the blood on the beak of the eagle.

In addition to the wildlife, Yellowstone visitors benefited from the demise of the bison. The Blacktail Pond area was crowded with visitors, and photographers in particular, for more than a week.

For the most part, these photos were taken under less than ideal conditions due to poor lighting and excessive distance. The bear and wolf photos were shot at about 175 yards. In my experience you can’t get good quality images at that distance. The equipment used was as follows: Canon 500mm f/4 lens; Canon 1.4 TC; Canon 7D. I should also mention a book I have found to be very valuable in understanding bears in general and Yellowstone’s in particular. The book is “Yellowstone Bears In the Wild.” The author is James C. Halfpenny. You can find it at almost any book store. If you’re in Gardiner, Montana, you can pick up a copy of Jim’s book at The Paradise Gallery. If you go there, you should also check out the wildlife photos on display by several wildlife photographers, including yours truly.

June 19, 2010Uncategorized

The Bison of Yellowstone

In my last post about baby bison I said that seeing and photographing them gave me a new appreciation of the adults. But for that I might not have stopped to watch and photograph this cow bison as she grazed on the succulent grasses in this pond. I wonder what the starlings are saying?

A Cow Bson Feeds on Succulent Grasses in a Small Pond — Cow Bison, Yellowstone National Park

Bison sometimes get into trouble when they enter the waters of Yellowstone. Not far from this tiny pond is Blacktail Pond. At the time I took this photo (May 2010) there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail. I’m not sure how they got in there, but once they got in they were in trouble. Blacktail is much deeper than this little pond and it has very steep banks. Because of its body shape, I think a bison would have a tougher time getting out of Blacktail Pond than any other species of Yellowstone. Their deaths, however, provided needed protein for several predators this spring. I saw grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, ravens and at least one coyote feed on those carcasses.