The Fawns Arrive As The Antlers Grow

Late May Morning Along The Stream

Late May and early June is a rewarding time for the outdoor photographer in Southcentral Pennsylvania. There is no shortage of subjects to photograph as the whitetail fawns are being born, the bucks are growing their antlers, and the meadows are loaded with many species of wildflowers.

Yellow Goat's Beard

Most does give birth to the fawns in this area between mid-May and mid-June with the vast majority arriving the last few days  of May and the first few days in June.  This doe was still pregnant on May 30th as indicated by the large swollen abdomen.

Pregnant Doe

Another doe that I usually see each day had a large distended abdomen on May 30th and then I didn't see her until June 1st and her flanks were shrunken indicating that she had given birth. On June 2nd I got a few brief video clips of her nursing a fawn in a thicket, but a thunderstorm was approaching so there was little chance to exploit the opportunity.  I saw her again on the following evening and this time I got several video clips although again the brush was thick and it was hard to get a clear angle.  This time I managed to take a few still photographs with the 5D MK III.

Doe Nursing Fawn

While the fawns are being born, the buck's antlers keep getting larger. This buck is the second one pictured in the last post..  That photo was taken on May 22nd.  Today's photo was taken just one week later and he is now developing a point on his left antler.

Young Buck-One Week Later

Growth is very rapid and by early-mid July the older bucks will have 3/4 or more of their antler growth. This buck has already grown significantly longer beams in the few days since this photo was taken.  If he does not disperse it will be interesting to document his rack as it develops.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Gobblers, Bucks, and Bluebirds

The Eastern Wild Turkey is one of my favorite subjects to photograph during the spring months and I have spent many hours afield filming and photographing them this year.  I love to capture the gobblers as they perform the courtship display and for a time from mid-April thru mid-May I saw them doing this almost every day.  One thing I love about video is the ability to get dramatic close-ups at very long range, but with that being said I am not happy until I get a good supply of still photos each spring and on a few occasions this year, they came close enough for excellent still portraits.

I also like to document the development of the antlers of the whitetail bucks.  I have seen a few bucks with branch antlers so far.  I was not able to get still photos of them, but I have photographed a few that have not yet branched.  The first buck pictured below was a small rack buck last year with four or five points so he should grow a decent rack this year.

2nd Year Rack Buck

This deer has only partially changed from the winter to the summer coat and looks very ragged, but the buck below has almost completed the shedding process.  He was a small spike last year and should grow a respectable rack this year.

Another Prospective Rack Buck

While waiting for the deer and turkeys to appear I am always looking for other subjects to photograph and one morning a bluebird caught an earthworm in the meadow in front of me and flew to a limb and paused with it before flying on to its' nest with it.

Bluebird With Earthworm

 All photos were taken with the Canon 5D MKIII and the 600mmF4.0 IS L lens.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Strutting Gobblers and Other Springtime Wildlife

Spring, the wildflowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and the male turkeys are gobbling--what an exciting time to be afield. I have been out every morning this spring and have seen a lot of wildlife, but good close-up encounters with mature gobblers strutting seem to be harder to come by than usual.  When the turkeys are not present it is good to photograph the wildflowers.

Spring flowers add beauty to a day afield

When the turkeys are present and one or more gobblers are strutting and gobbling it makes for an exciting photographic experience.

Mature Gobbler in full strut:Canon 5D MKIII-600mm lens

One of the most desirable and dramatic photos of a bull elk is to capture him bugling and over the years I have tried to duplicate these results with turkeys, but it seems the actual act of gobbling does not look as impressive as the elk bugling.  Maybe someday I will get the perfect photo and change my mind., but for now I would say that capturing them strutting usually yields more impressive photos.  It actually seems to work better to document the actual gobbling with video as you get to see the bird go through the entire process as well as hear the exciting sound of the gobble.

Mature Gobbler in mid-gobble: Canon 5D MKIII-500mm lens

Gobbler pauses from courting to look for danger: Canon 7D MKII-100-400mm IS II

 Of course the reason for all of this excitement is the hens and often some of the best activity occurs when hens are present and the gobblers are performing the courtship display.  They also strut and gobble at times when no hens are present, but it is much more likely to happen when they are there.

Hen pauses from feeding while gobblers strut in adjacent meadow: Canon 7D MKII-100-400mm IS II

If you look closely in the photo below, this hen has a small beard (look just below the first green brier that goes partly across its' chest), but it is a hen nonetheless.  You can tell this by a combination of factors the most important factors being the drab coloration compared to the gobblers and the smaller size.  Few hens grow beards, but they are not exactly rare.  I usually film or photograph at least one each year.

Bearded Hen: Canon 7D MKII-100-400mm IS II

Filming and photographing other species that happen along adds to the enjoyment of the day and I especially like to capture the deer doing something interesting, such as this young buck browsing.

Young deer browsing: Canon 7D MKII-100-400mm IS II

When I was young fox squirrels were seldom seen in my area, but now I am likely to see as many or more of them than the grays.

Fox Squirrel: Canon 7D MKII-100-400mm IS II

With the arrival of May the trees will soon be covered with leaves and wildlife movement patterns will change to a certain extent.  Already the peak of the gobbling season is over and birds are not heard or seen as often.  Today is the first day of the spring gobbler season and this will also have a dampening effect on gobbling activity, but there will be periodic upswings in activity until the mating season is over in early to mid-June.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Late March Wildlife-PA Bull Elk Shed Antlers

Herd Crosses Wetlands Area-Dewey Road

After my early March trip to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to film and photograph the Snow Goose Migration, I concentrated on filming whitetail deer and eastern wild turkey gobblers until March 21st, when I traveled to Pennsylvania Elk Country for several days of filming Pennsylvania Elk.

Today's post features a 2 minute 47 second video of the best clips recorded during this period.  It begins with a herd of whitetail deer crossing a stream and then features two clips of birds and one of turkey gobblers, gobbling and skirmishing.  The action then shifts to elk country where you get to see a large herd of elk crossing a wetlands.  This was filmed on Dewey Road at the Gilbert Farm Viewing Area.  A  herd was grazing at the main viewing spot, while another  herd was feeding near the ponds to the south of Dewey Road.  I was filming the herd at the ponds, when suddenly the air was filled with squealing  and screaming as the first herd came down the hill and joined the elk at the ponds.



Within a short time the entire herd moved on and spent part of the evening feeding near the log cabin on the hill and then later moved on to The Saddle.

Some bull elk shed their antlers as early as late February, but many still have them during the time I was there and I filmed bulls in all of the stages, including bulls that had already shed and were growing new antlers, a bull with one antler shed and one remaining, and bulls that still had both antlers.

This 6x6 still had antlers on March 23rd

 Most bulls that have not yet shed their antlers will do so soon. It will not be long until the new racks will be of substantial size and the new calves will be arriving.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.