I hope to follow the growth of two whitetail bucks during this spring and summer, but it seemed for a time that the project may have come to a screeching halt as I last saw the bucks on Monday evening. Up until that time they were seen almost every morning and evening. While few deer are killed by poachers at this time of year, it is possible for the animals to move several miles from their home range and not return. Since one of the bucks is a three year old, the likelihood that he will leave is declining as most disperse in their first autumn as a rack buck or the following spring.
Over the years I have seen two 2year olds, vanish suddenly from mid-May to early June, so I was not ruling out the possibility that this had happened, and I was starting to feel a sense of loss, but then last evening they returned to the food plot and I was able to photograph the same buck that was featured last week.
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| 2 year old-exactly one week later |
Notice how the points are now clearly defined. For those who are technically minded, I used the 70-200mmf2.8L IS and the Canon 7D for today's deer photos.
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| One Week Later- The Points Are Plainly Visible |
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I had to post a photograph of another species to prove that I do photograph something besides deer, turkeys, and elk, so here is a chipmunk from this morning's photo shoot.
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| Chipmunk |
In this case I used the Canon 7D with the 500mmF4 IS. As light conditions were very low, this was taken at ISO 800-1/100 sec. f4.5.
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Nice close-up on the nubs!
ReplyDeleteI played too :)
The chipmunk's a cutie!
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots from the elk to the chipmunk. Also a very interesting post, glad they returned for you.
ReplyDeleteAnother vey informative posting Willard... and I smiled at you adding the Chipmunk...
ReplyDeleteAll the very best to you all there
Tom
Whew!!! I was starting to worry... I remember one of your posts about poachers and some comments that ensued on the post. And I was worrying you were going to say it happened again, and was relieved to hear that it didn't! I think it is so awesome that you get to experience watching and documenting these animals... your job is awesome.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The chippy is cute too ;-)
Hi Willard,
ReplyDeleteI've been away a couple of weeks so it's nice to catch up with you.
I was hoping to see this process for myself but I haven't had deer visits for a few weeks. Great shots here!
Love the little chipmunk as well.
Carletta's Captures
Hi Willard, thanks for your visit and comments.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly capture beautiful close ups - real sharp.
The bucks antlers are coming along well. I'm so glad he returned so you could take another photo of the antlers' progress.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of the chipmunk, too!
Fantastic captures :) So much detail.
ReplyDeleteThe Chipmunk picture is beautiful.He seems more colorful than any I have seen before.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,Ruth
So sad, I thought the deer hunting season should be long gone already. I suppose they are not in the land open for hunting.
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots, every one of them!
ReplyDeleteMarvellous close-ups! The antler growth is astonishing. I like the texture of the tree bark and the bright eye of the chipmunk.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly comprehend that you can get so close to deer where you are, and not only approach them, but see the same deer for these photos! Can't happen here unless it was some sort of deer farm. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the informative post and the close up detail on the deer antlers. I'm envious every time I see how close you are able to approach and photograph these amazing animals.
ReplyDeleteNice to see my cousins get out and about. I have a chipmunk on one of my blogs.
ReplyDeleteStill wet, cloudy and cold here in Ohio.