Monthly Archives: May 2013

The Great Gray

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Every photographer has at least one animal, bird, sunset, type of light, whatever, that they want to shoot and for some reason the photo gods have determined that they shall not prevail. And because of that it shall now be their quest and they will suffer and be disappointed until they finally obtain it, if they ever do, kinda like the holy grail.

For me that list is almost as long as the list of shots I have collected and one of the big ones on that list is this bird, the Great Gray Owl. It had become my Moby Dick and I was constantly thwarted in every attempt to photograph it. I’d hear on the Yellowstone telegraph that one was seen hunting the meadows back behind the Cascade Creek area and I would fly over there, pack my gear in just in time to see the tail feathers disappearing into the deep forest.

They love the dim places like a small meadow surrounded by tall lodge pole or ponderosa where they can sit on a branch at the very edge of the forest waiting for the smallest movement to betray the presence of their primary food source, the mouse. Then they swoop soundlessly down and snatch up that hapless mouse and take it back to their perch. At least that’s what the other guys told me because I’d never seen one actually do that due to the fact that I had in some way offended the gods. It was always they just left, or they were here this morning, I was constantly a day late and an owl short. But if you are pure of heart and persistent to a fault there is a small chance that you will be forgiven and allowed to complete your quest.

Somehow I had managed that, the pure of heart thing, and while driving through the Hayden valley, which if you’ve ever been there, you know is virtually treeless, except for one lone tree just off the roadway.  And in that tree, that glorious, incredible tree, sitting there like a dream come true, and a wish fulfilled, was a beautiful Great Gray owl. And because I had apparently really put one over on the gods I was granted an additional boon of being the only photographer there. In photospeak that is the equivalent of winning the lotto, powerball and the raffle at the VFW all in one.

I knew I had a very short time in which to take advantage of this situation because as soon as I pulled out the Sigmonster, my 300-800 zoom lens that lets me take pictures out as far as the eye can see, there would be a deluge, more like a tsunami, of other photographers descending on me and MY OWL because it was my owl, you see, no one else’s.

My unbelievable good fortune held for the first part of the shoot because everyone that went by had something else to do, some other place to be and must not have been photographers. But the good luck can not last forever and it wasn’t long before the drums sent out the message that a Great Gray owl was not hidden in the deep recesses of the forest but was out in the open where any one could take a picture of it, whether they were deserving or not and the flood gates opened.

I had already seized the moment and gotten my exclusive pictures and as long as I didn’t lose my compact flash card or my computer blew up I had them forever. Great joy and ecstasy on me. There were easily 60-70 photographers ringing this bird shooting every move it made and the bird for some unknown reason was cooperative and did all the owl things in the correct order and gave unstintingly of it’s time until finally having eaten it’s fill of field mice it did retire into the forest proper.

So happiness upon happiness, I left to continue my day’s work feeling very proud of myself. Now if I could just get those shots of  the mountain lion bringing down a deer I could die happy.

When the Cold Wind Blows

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What happens when you’re little and the cold winds blow, when terrors are many and there’s no one there, no one that cares or will help with your tears, a comforting presence who lessens your fears. For most thankfully, there’s always a safe haven, we know her as mother and she represents calm and safety and most of all love. When, at the end of the day comfort and warmth makes everything ok again, being next to your mom is the only thing that matters. As we travel along this journey and deal with the problems of life we can always find comfort available to us if we cherish her memory. It can still warm and comfort us, it can still bring us home again.

Keep Me From the Cold

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Mom and the kid have been cooped up together all winter and it is time to finally get outside and get  some fresh air. Trouble is it’s cold out. Not, don’t blink or your eyelids will freeze shut cold, but cold enough for a brand new cub that has never known anything but the warmth of the cozy den and it’s mother’s ample body. Mom however is hungry, really hungry and she needs to eat something right now. The quickest most reliable meal is a ground squirrel which she can dig up pretty quick and she is working on that now. Wherever mom goes the cub goes too and today is no exception. The weather makes little to no difference to the mother and she basically ignores it. But today is an exceptionally awful day for weather, it’s cold, it’s snowing, the wind is blowing, the snow is wet and heavy and this is probably the first time the cub has been out. Mom is determined to dig up a ground squirrel and sets about that task with fierce determination leaving the youngster to hover about the edge of the activity. Thing is the snow is really cold on little paws, and it is taking a very long time for this ground squirrel catching business to happen, and why can’t we go back to the den, and won’t this wind stop blowing and OK that’s it I’m taking matters into my own hands, I mean feet. The only warm place for miles around is Mom’s back and that’s where he’s headed. This cub probably only weighs 15-20 lbs. and except for the sharp needle like claws digging in she doesn’t even notice him up there. The cub’s only problem now is staying on her back as she goes through the gyrations of digging for this squirrel. He’s only thrown off a few times but now that he’s learned the secret to staying warm he quickly climbs back up and this ground squirrel hunting thing is a lot more tolerable. This behavior won’t last much longer though as mom won’t tolerate it after he gets to a certain size which will happen pretty fast but then the snow going away will happen pretty fast too. It is spring after all but right now it’s really handy to have a mom around.

Spring Song

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It is not a very well-known animal fact that moose babies like to serenade their mothers whenever they can. According to Dr. Frieda Houf, our resident Mammologist and young moose specialist here at the World Headquarters of our Media Empire, young moose may have a more sinister motive to their singing than first imagined. It is her theory that the real purpose behind moose singing is a desire to drive their mother’s to a point where they don’t know if they’ve been snake bit or struck by lightning. When asked what benefit this would be to the youngster Dr. Houf replied, referring to her doctorial thesis, “My Moose, My Life, and the Power of Sensible Shoes”, The youngster, obviously hungry due to not eating for the last three minutes, must affect his mother’s behavior to get her on her feet so he may nurse. Singing to her in a voice that closely resembles that of a strangled cat, will often cause the mother to leap to her feet regardless of how tired she is and allow the young crooner access to breakfast.  Dr. Houf then referred us to the chapter in her thesis, ‘Life isn’t fair and it’s often unkind” where she explains this theory in greater depth. Unfortunately we have been using Dr. Houf’s book to hold up the corner of the garage here at the World Headquarters of our Media Empire compound I mean campus so we can not verify the accuracy of her information at this time. However as we have never actually caught her in an outright lie, we have to assume that there is a kernel of truth in what she is saying. What we do know with absolute certainly however is that this young moose family spent a sunny day in the willow thickets in the Indian creek drainage just past the obsidian cliffs here in Yellowstone National Park with Mom alternately resting and jumping to her feet when ever feeding time rolled around. Fortunately for the young singer Mom has infinite patience.

Nearly New

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I was driving along near the Yellowstone Picnic area in Yellowstone National Park, which is a notorious hangout for antelope mothers-to-be in the spring when I noticed this antelope doe acting in a furtive, downright sneaky way. Since antelope are normally pretty straight forward animals not given to furtive, sneaky behavior, I figured she was up to something. She gradually moved over the crest of the hill and out of sight. Since I was on the lookout for sneaky mothers I immediately pulled over and climbed the hill to see what was going on. I had no sooner crested the hill and located her when I saw her give birth and the second fawn hit the ground. It happened so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to get my camera up. She had already dropped the first fawn as I was fumbling about trying to get my camera gear together. It seemed like only seconds later she had both of the new twins up on their tiny little hooves ready to move in case there was any danger. If you look closely at the fawn on the left you will see the umbilical cord dangling. These babies are nearly new. I was far enough away from them that I wasn’t alarming them, I know it looks close but that is due to the miracle of the ‘long glass’ of the telephoto lens, but she was antsy because there had been coyotes around and they are able to take down an antelope fawn without any trouble. The average antelope fawn weighs between 5 & 8 lbs.  at birth and the average adult coyote weighs 25 to 45 lbs. so there is little contest if the coyote sees the fawn. However, antelope moms are the tigers of the ungulates when it comes to coyotes. On a previous trip I watched a coyote stalking a fawn when the antelope doe spotted him. She chased him, easily running him down and nearly killed him by trying to step on him with her sharp hooves. At one point she caught him, rolled him over and before he could get back on his feet she had trampled him several more times. I mean she handed him his lunch. He got away but only just. That coyote is now mostly hunting ground squirrels. The moral here is if you are a coyote don’t mess with antelope babies. Mom will clean your clock.

Fooling Bears 101

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These Sandhill cranes have a brand new family that they are raising next to Floating Island lake in Yellowstone National Park and they have brought them out to see the world. The chicks are the little orange blobs on the reed pile. One of the parents always has it’s head up scanning the area for predators. Coyotes and foxes like to eat these little ones so constant vigilance is a must. The chicks can’t fly or even run very fast and are easy prey once they are seen. Being in the tall grass and reeds next to the lake gives them somewhere to hide if they need to.

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It’s a good thing the parents are keeping a close watch because soon a black bear comes out and begins sweeping the edge of the lake for an easy meal. He’s done this before, catching an entire brood of mallards, so his experience tells him that there’s a good chance for a snack.

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Just when it appears that he will blunder into the chicks, the male takes over and pulls out his most trusted trick for getting rid of unwanted predators. Pretending that he has a damaged wing he flutters and staggers around in front of the bear deliberately trying to get it’s attention. Weighing in at up to 14 lbs and with a wingspan of up to 5 to 6 feet he makes quite a sight and is impossible to ignore. Making distressed sounds while he thrashes about helps make the act more believable. This time it works as the bear starts off after him thinking that he has a sure thing going and will soon be dining on fresh Sandhill crane, but somehow the crane manages to stay just out of his reach. Before long he has managed to lead the bear well away from the young ones while mom has the time to lead the young ones to a safer place helping them to make it through another day. That’s one more reason Mom’s are important so love your mom or the bears will get you.