A New Experience

Elk County Sunrise

During my recent absence from blogging I was in Pennsylvania’s Elk Range to observe the 2007 elk hunt.

Pennsylvania’s Elk Season is a highly regulated hunt, which runs from November 5th through November 10th. 25 antlerless permits and 15 antlered were issued for a total of 40.

When I first visited the area in 1995 I was a dedicated hunter. There was no elk season at that time. I looked at the animals strictly as a watchable resource and of course an excellent subject to photograph or videotape. As a result of viewing the elk close up and several other factors, which I hope to discuss in future posts, I made a decision to quit hunting for any species sometime in 1998. Since that time I have been in the field most of my spare time with camera or camcorder in hand.

I became seriously interested in the elk herd and set out to capture a large collection of videotape and still images, with the emphasis being on video.

The first modern day elk season in 70 years was held in 2001, but I never witnessed a hunt until this year. This year I decided to be there in a non-participating capacity so as to be able to comment responsibly on conditions.

As a result, Saturday evening November 3rd found me deep in the backcountry scouting for elk and looking for hunters and guides scouting for elk.

I only found two elk. The nicest was a small 6x6, which I had encountered repeatedly during the past rut. I found him on Sunday morning at the same spot. I mostly took video of him, but am posting a still from each encounter. This animal was completely unconcerned about my presence and permitted me to walk openly in front of him at an estimated distance of 50 yards. His chances of survival in the coming week depended on two factors. One was blind luck. If he was not the wrong place at the wrong time, he would survive. His other hope was that a hunter would pass him up because they wanted a larger trophy. His chances of not being seen were slim.

6x6 Saturday Evening Canon 40-D 300mmF4

6x6 Sunday Morning: Canon 40-D 300mmF4

Shenandoah Scenics

This will be my last post until next Thursday or later, as I will be in the field away from Internet access until that time.

Here are two scenic shots from Tuesday's trip to Shenandoah National Park. Drought and insect damage made many of the scenic overlooks less attractive than usual, but the view from Tanner's Ridge Overlook just south of Big Meadows Visitor's Center was superb!

Massanutten Mountain from Tanner's Ridge

View Southwest From Tanner's Ridge Overlook

Both shots were taken with Canon 40D and Canon 28-135EF at ISO 100

Shenandoah Visit

Today fellow Game Commission Retiree, Billie Cromwell and I traveled to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia for an eventful morning of photographing wildlife. It is a three hour drive one way. We left at 4:00A.M. and were at Big Meadows in the central district of the park at 7:00.

Soon after dawn we found a superb 10-point whitetail buck grazing by the side of Skyline Drive which follows the top of the mountain through the park from Front Royal in the north to Waynesboro in the south. The Big Meadows Area is perhaps the best spot in the park to observe and photograph wildlife as animal and birds are used to humans and do not flee at the sight of them.

Canon 40-D 70-200mmL f2.8 IS ISO 500

The highlight of the trip was a rare encounter with a Barred Owl along the edge of the meadow. The meadow is a large clearing that lies atop Virginia's Blue Ridge. It is thought it was originally cleared by the Indians. Later it was farm land until the ground was taken to create the park. The Big Meadows complex features a visitors center, lodges, campground, and camp store all of which close for the winter at the end of November or slightly before.

Barred Owl: Canon 40-D 500mmF4 IS ISO 100

Is This A Great Blue Heron?

Late Sunday Afternoon when I went to cross the fording, which Salty and ASH write about, I was lucky enough to spy this large bird sitting upstream from the crossing. I think it is a Great Blue Heron, but I am not certain. If anyone knows for sure, let me know. Locals call these birds “fish cranes” and from there it goes down hill. I won’t repeat the favorite local term. Also in backwoods Pennsylvania a stream crossing is not a “fording”,but rather a “forden” or “fordin”.

Over the years I have seen a lot of these birds and have gotten excellent video, but never a decent still shot. In this case the deck was stacked against me, but not impossibly so. I had the 70-200mm mounted with the camera on ISO 100. I would have liked to have had my 300mm to make the bird larger, and a higher ISO for the flying shots.

I cropped the image as much as possible without destroying it, which made the bird reasonably close looking.

Like “Wom Tigley” driving his Land Rover. I smashed my Chevy S-10 Blazer into the stream. At that point it all happened at once. I saw the bird, brought the camera to my eye, slammed the brakes, and fired a burst. Road hunting and 4 wheeling at its finest!

Canon 40-D 70-200mmL f2.8