Pennsylvania Bull Elk Shed Antlers

Elk Grazing On Site of The Gilbert Farmhouse At Sundown ( House was burned in 2010)

 Some of the larger bulls shed their antlers in late February and this continues into April with the smaller bulls generally shedding last.  It is common to see mature bulls growing new antlers, while smaller bulls still have last years antler growth.  I was in Pennsylvania Elk Country from mid-afternoon on Monday until mid-morning on Thursday with the goal of filming and photographing as much of this activity as possible.

At first it seemed as though that aspect of the trip was doomed to failure as cows, calves, and spike bulls were everywhere, but the rack bulls were impossible to find.  This changed on Wednesday evening when I found a mature bull near Devils Elbow that had already shed and was growing new antlers. I stood at the edge of the roadway and photographed him with the 500mm lens  as he stood in the woods near the edge of a camp lawn.

Mature Bull Growing Antlers

A bit later I found two raghorns that still had their antlers near Elkview Diner, and an older bull was with them that had already shed and was just beginning to grow new antlers.  Again, the 500mm F4 was the lens of choice, but the range was much further in this case.

Raghorns Near Elkview Diner

Growing New Antlers

The final morning of the trip was to prove eventful as well, but that is a story for another time.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

American Coot at Middle Creek WMA: Camera Critters

The American Coot is often mistaken for a duck, but is actually a member or the rail family.  I have seen these birds quite frequently at Meadow Grounds Lake in Fulton County near McConnellsburg, Pa. and at Middle Creek WMA on the Lebanon-Lancaster County line near Kleinfeltersville, Pa.  It is possible to photograph a large variety of waterfowl at Middle Creek during the spring migration although it is often difficult to get close enough to obtain exceptional portraits of the birds--even when using the big prime lenses.  I did get a few photographs of American Coot on my March 7th trip.

American Coot: Canon 7D-500mmF4  ISO 400 1/500sec, f4-

Coots Interacting: Canon 7D-500mmF4  ISO 400 1/500sec, f4-

Even though the ranges are often long and the waterfowl somewhat shy, a morning at Middle Creek during the spring migration is usually time well spent.

For more Camera Critters photographs, click Here!

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Sandhill Crane at Middle Creek WMA

I have read reports of as many as five Sandhill Cranes being seen at Middle Creek WMA this year, but most sources only mention one bird. We sighted one on our first trip of  2012  on March 7th, but it walked out of sight over a hilltop before I could get the camera and tripod set up.

This changed yesterday when my daughter Amy and I went to Middle Creek early Sunday morning and found a Sandhill Crane feeding along the border between a corn field that had been plowed since last Wednesday morning and a grass field.

Sandhill Crane at Middle Creek

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The conditions made it impossible to get the quality of photographs that I was hoping for as the distance was too far and the sun was not at the best angle.  As a result both of the photos shown today are cropped quite a bit and as a result there is not the fine detail that I would like. The photos were taken with the Canon 7D at ISO 200 and the Canon 500mm F4 lens.  I also took a few clips of video with the Canon T3i and the 100-400mm lens, which I hope to post in time.

Sandhill Crane: Photo Severely Cropped

This is not the first year that Sandhill Cranes have been seen at Middle Creek, but it is the first I had heard about it or seen them.  This experience causes me to ponder if this will continue to be a rare event or will the numbers increase each year until eventually there is a significant population of these birds in Pennsylvania.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Lift-Off: A Morning At Middle Creek WMA

With perfect weather in the forecast and the PGC website reporting that a large number of snow geese were still at Middle Creek WMA, it was not a difficult decision to make the 100+ mile drive on Wednesday morning.  I arrived as the first hint of morning brightened the eastern sky and Middle Creek Lake was alive with the sounds of snow geese, tundra swans, and other waterfowl.  It was still too early for photographs or video when I arrived, but one could see the indistinct, shadowy shapes of vast numbers of waterfowl.

There was enough light by 6:00a.m. to take photographs at high ISO, but the shutter speeds were still very low.

Middle Creek Dawn: Canon 7D-Canon 300mm F2.8  ISO 1250 1/40 F2.8

Shortly after 6:10 a.m. a large number of the snow geese erupted from the lake.  Some left, but most circled several times and then settled back down to the lake surface.  It was still too dark to use as high of a shutter speed as I would have liked, but there was nothing to do other than make the best of the opportunity.

Lift-Off: Canon 7D-Canon 500mm F4 ISO 800 1/80 sec. F4

There was much more light was by 6:28 a.m. when there was another massive eruption of snow geese from the lake and this time all of them left.  I concentrated on video at the start of the action, but then switched to the 7D and still photographs as the birds flew directly toward me.

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Snow Geese Approaching: Canon 7D-Canon 500mm F4 ISO 400 1/400 sec. F4

Snow Geese At Long Range: Canon 7D-Canon 500mm F4 ISO 400 1/1000 sec. F5

Once the lake emptied out, it was time to turn to the pothole just across the road for duck and Canada Geese photography, but that is a story for another day.


Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.