Camera Critters: Springtime In The Meadow

Springtime in a backwoods Pennsylvania meadow. On clear mornings, it is so beautiful and peaceful to be on station at dawn, listening to the birds singing, watching wildlife activity as the day arrives.  Deer are usually there at dawn, but they usually leave the meadow around sun-up and go to the nearby woodlands to escape the heat of mid-day.

Whitetail Herd At Dawn

The two year old and three year old bucks that I have been posting periodically to demonstrate antler development have evidently left for good as they have not been seen since the morning of May 17th. With their dispersal my attention has shifted to documenting the pregnant does and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the fawns. 

Pregnant Whitetail Doe

While fawns are born in a period ranging from mid-May until mid-June, most in this individual herd usually give birth within a few days of June 8th.

The Abdomens Are Huge

Photographing wildflowers is an excellent way to wring some more satisfaction out of a morning, after the deer have left for the day.  Today's flower is a Beard-tongue, but I am not sure which variety of this species that it is.

Penstemon(Beard-tongue)

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Camera Critters: Other Species

It seems that I mostly photograph deer, but I do encounter other species as well and while driving across a backwoods stream I saw a pair of Canada Geese with their young.  I quickly shut down the engine and reached into the back seat for the 500mm F4, which had the 7D attached to it. I did not expect to get a usable photograph as the light was very poor and I was only able to get a shutter speed of 1/100 sec. at f4 with an ISO of 800.  I could not use the tripod, but rested my arms on the bottom of the window opening and of course had the image stabilization engaged.  To my surprise, one of the photos actually turned out reasonably well.

Canada Geese And Young

 While I usually photograph Cardinals in the winter, I couldn't pass up a chance at this beautiful bird as he visited the backwoods bird feeder. This one was taken with the 500mmF4 with 1.4X extender.

Male Cardinal

A mourning dove also stopped by one morning.  This photo was taken with the 500mm without the extender and is severely cropped.  The bird flew away when I tried to attach the extender.

Mourning Dove

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Fawning Time At Big Meadows

A fellow blogger recently contacted me for  information about my experiences in photographing whitetail fawns at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park.  I have not went to the park during peak fawning season during the past few years, so the inquiry made me think about the wonderful experiences I have had at Big Meadows and made me realize that I must not miss this exciting time at Big Meadows this year.

Young Whitetail Fawn: June 5, 2005

Most fawns are born from mid-May to mid-June and in my experience it seems that the vast majority at Shenandoah National Park are born during the last full week in May and the first full week in June. I made my first springtime excursion to the Park in 2001 and saw a lot of fawns in the meadow that year.  It was an addictive experience so I returned for fawning season each year until 2006.

Today's post features photos from an especially good morning in June of 2005.  This was the first fawning season that I had my 500mmF4, and I put it to good use, when I found a doe and fawn bathed in the beautiful early morning sunlight near the wetlands in the center of the meadow. The first two photos were taken with the 1.4 extender attached. The one directly below was published the following year in The Pennsylvania Game Commission Calendar.

Whitetail Doe Grooms Fawn

Fawns lie down in the tall meadow grasses when they are not feeding.  If one is cautious they may photograph them as they attempt to hide, but they should not approach them closely enough to disturb them. The photograph below was taken from a distance with the 500mmF4.

Whitetail Fawn Hiding In The Meadow

The deer at Big Meadows are in most cases completely acclimated to humans, but it is best to not approach too closely as the does will become alarmed or may become defensive to protect their young.  It is also a violation of park regulations to do so.

Camera Critters: Bull 36 Pennsylvania's Most Famous Elk

I spent most of last week in Pennsylvania's Elk Country.  The primary goals of the trip were to photograph bull elk in velvet and to meet  several other wildlife photographers and bloggers.

When I arrived on Monday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to find Bull#36, commonly known as "Fred or Freddy", feeding in a meadow along Winslow Hill Road.  He is the most famous bull in Pennsylvania and is now also quite possibly the oldest.

Bull#36 (Fred) May 2010

 I first filmed him in 1997 when he had a small but beautiful branch antlered rack.  He quickly grew into a magnificent animal and in his prime numbered among  the most impressive bulls that Pennsylvania has produced.

Fred: Autumn 2005

 Now he is in rapid decline.  His knees are knobby, he walks with an arthritic shuffle, and there appears to be problems with one eye.   I saw him again on the next day as he grazed near the road and what a privilege it was to photograph this aging monarch who was once the dominant bull on Winslow Hill.

An Aging Monarch: May 2010

It is likely that he  has survived to this point by remaining in the No Hunt Zone during elk season, but old age is taking its' toll and his long career will most likely be over soon.

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