Tag: point reyes national seashore

Tule Elk

A Lot of Bull, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a tule elk bull at end of rut.
Bull Tule Elk

The day I photographed the peregrine (my last post) I also saw this big 7×8 point bull.  He was with about 40 cows and calves a short distance west of the Drake’s Beach Road.  I don’t like the background, but I think the size of this bull warrants a posting.

My postings have slowed down recently because I decided a month or so ago to make the images on my website much larger and it is taking a lot of time.  When I started I thought I’d use one or more actions to speed up the process.  However, as I assessed what was ahead of me I came to the conclusion that my Photoshop skills had improved enough that I could improve most of the images if I went back to the background layer of each image.  It’s going to take a few more weeks to get the revised site up, but I think it will be well worth the extra time.

Hawk

Peregrine Falcon, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of peregrine falcon eating its prey.
Peregrine Falcon Holding Its Prey

I went out to Point Reyes yesterday for the first time since I left for Yellowstone in early September.  I’m still trying to get some good images of elk during the rut.  Thanks to heavy fog around Pierce Point, I didn’t have much luck in that regard.  I was lucky, though, to spot this peregrine feeding on some prey while perched on a fence post.

Osprey

Osprey, Tomales Bay, California

Photo of an osprey perched on a dock.
Osprey Perched on Dock

I was backing up some images recently and realized I had forgotten that I photographed this osprey last month.  I like the background in this photo which is comprised of the hills on the east side of Tomales Bay.    The bird is perched on the top of an ornate gate to a dock along the shoreline in the town of Inverness on the way into Point Reyes National Seashore.

Tule Elk

Bull Tule Elk During the Rut

Photo of bull tule elk.
Bull Tule Elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

The rut is in full swing at Point Reyes.   This bull had a harem of six or seven cows and a few yearlings and calves near Pierce Point Ranch.  He got into one big fight with another bull of about equal size.  He prevailed, but these bull elk sure work hard to pass on their genes.  I saw a bull limping due to some problem with his left foreleg or shoulder.  It reminded me of a limping bull on the D Ranch near Drake’s Beach.  He also had something wrong with his left leg or shoulder.

Tule Elk

Bull Tule Elk After a Fight

Photo of a bull tule elk after a fight.
Injured Bull Tule Elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

I wrote this post at the same time as the previous one.  The point of this one was going to be to show how the bull in that post looked after an apparent fight.  In looking over the draft of this post I now realize this isn’t the same bull.  This bull’s antlers are “palmated,” especially the right one.  Furthermore, I don’t see any baling twine.  I guess I jumped to the conclusion that it was the same bull because this big bull was returning to the same 8 cows that I saw the previous bull with in the same spot an hour before.   In view of the fact that this is the one returning to the harem, it appears he is the dominant bull in this area.

He was limping very noticeably which seemed to be due to an injured left shoulder.  The area behind his lower left shoulder seems devoid of any hair.   His left flank may also show evidence of a fight.  He was panting heavily for the 10 to 15 minutes I observed him and his mouth was open almost all that time.  I assume this bull was in a fight with the bull in the previous post.  Even though he was showing signs of stress from what I presume was a fight, he still checked out a couple of cows that must have been close to being ready to mate.  Being the dominant bull is a lot of work and leaves the big bulls in a weaker state when winter arrives.  Point Reyes is a pretty safe place though for a weakened bull elk.  It’s a lot tougher in Yellowstone with the low temperatures, the snow and the wolves.