Camera Critters: A Living Legend

I spent most of last week in Pennsylvania's Elk Country.  Photography had to take a back seat at times during this trip as I attended a very informative workshop on elk, which was presented by The Pennsylvania Game Commission and also spent a lot of time discussing elk issues with concerned citizens.

I was fortunate enough to encounter Bull #36 on several occasions.  He is more commonly known as "Fred" by most elk enthusiasts.  Many do not feel a trip to elk country is completely successful unless they see this gentle giant.

Fred: Bull 36

 I filmed him for the first time in 1997 when he was a beautiful young bull and have recorded him each year since except for 2002 and 2003 when our path's did not cross.  He was fitted with a radio transmitter collar in 2004 and has been officially known as Bull 36 since that time.

Fred: A Living Legend

No one I talked to is certain exactly how old he is, but agree that he is at least 16 years old, and probably 17 or more.  I was surprised to see that his rack is this large as it did not appear to have the potential to grow this much when I saw him in May.  He also was suffers from arthritis, but now seems to be walking much better.  Still he has to be near the end of his lifespan and it was truly a pleasure to photograph a living legend.

In contrast, the young fawn pictured below is hopefully just beginning life, although there is a fairly high mortality rate from predators and natural causes.  Please note that this is not a young elk, which is known as a calf, but rather a whitetail deer fawn. I did not have any close encounters with calves during this trip, although I did see several, which were too far away for good still photography.

1 Day Old Whitetail Fawn

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Camera Critters: The Fawns Arrive

The doe featured in last week's Camera Critters usually visits the meadow each morning and evening.  She was there on the morning of June 9th, but did not appear that evening or the following morning, so after the other deer left the meadow on Thursday morning, I checked out some of the nearby woodlands and found her alternating between feeding and lying down.

Doe Resting In Woods After Giving Birth

At first I thought I had arrived in time to witness the birthing process, but closer observation indicated that she had already given birth, as her flanks were sunken.  It is sometimes very hard to tell if they have given birth or not as the abdomen may still be distended for several days after birth and some older does, never quite regain the slim, trim lines that they once had when not pregnant.

She did come to the meadow on Friday morning and I was able to document her appearance.  Compare the photo below with the one of similar perspective posted last week and you will see what I mean.

Doe With Sunken Flanks

 After I time I noticed that she had vanished while I was occupied with photographing another deer, so I went to the area where I found her Thursday and saw her slipping through the woodland.  Suddenly a tiny form stood up, went to her and began feeding.  Light levels were low and I mostly shot video, but what stills I did take at this point were unsharp.

Suddenly she left the fawn and came walking past me.  The fawn turned and ran directly under my video tripod. (I was shooting the still camera hand held, and using the tripod for video)  It was so close that I had to make a few steps backward to get far enough away for the 70-200mm to focus correctly.

Whitetail Fawn Up Close

The fawn stayed there for some time while I took several photographs.  It is always a battle to photograph them in the woodland because of the low light level, which usually requires high ISO settings and low shutter speeds.

Low Light Levels And Contrasty Light Makes Photography Difficult

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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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