This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
This site is dedicated to wildlife and landscape photography.
A friend and I were driving toward the Point Reyes Lighthouse last week when we saw this sow badger and her two cubs. They were very close to the edge of the road. For some reason she decided to build her den there. I hope she moves. If they stay there the chances are that one or more of them will be killed by a vehicle.
This photo was taken yesterday at Point Reyes National Seashore. It’s a great time to be out with a camera if you like to photograph wildlife. Members of the deer family are growing new antlers. Babies are being born, both predators and prey. I saw several elk calves yesterday. Wildflowers are also underway. If you look closely, you can see lots of douglas iris to go with the cow parsnip.
These two bulls were sparring with their hooves because their antlers obviously aren’t ready for fighting. This photo was taken yesterday near Pierce Point Ranch just as the sun was setting. Chrysler was there shooting commercials for several of its cars and trucks. It occupied the Pierce Point Ranch parking lot, the McClure’s Beach parking lot, and the east side of the road leading to the ranch. It looked like a movie set. They may be out there today as well.
This photo was underexposed about one and a half stops because the mode dial on my Canon 7D got moved inadvertently from AV to manual. This happens too easily and frequently. Canon now offers to fix this problem for a fee. I don’t know why Canon hasn’t always made the prosumer cameras so that the mode dial can’t be changed inadvertently. You shouldn’t have to send in your camera to prevent this from happening.
I like and enjoy seeing all wild birds. Okay, I’ll admit that I like some more than others. Take today’s photo for example. It’s not a bald eagle. It’s not a peregrine falcon. It’s not a great gray owl. It’s a red-winged blackbird. Still, I was happy to have the opportunity it gave me to photograph it and to try to create an attractive image.
This male northern harrier looks like he’s getting fed up with something — maybe me. Birds seem to look that way sometimes. It reminds me of the mad duck image I posted here. Maybe it’s more like: “Oh no, not you again.” It’s funny, herbivores often look like they are smiling. See my post on the bison calf below. Also, the cow elk here. Carnivores seem to have more of a poker face, but even with them I’ve seen what looked like a smile. I’m thinking of this one wolf that seemed to be smiling. See this link. Of course, I should mention the always-smiling porpoises and dolphins. And then there are the chimpanzees who not only smile, but laugh. Maybe I need to spend more time doing landscape photography.
There are three things in the photo above that say it’s spring to me. The first thing is the flowers. The second is the change occurring in the elk’s coat from a warmer (longer), lighter-colored, winter coat to a cooler (shorter), darker, summer coat. The third thing is the early-stage growth of antlers.
During the winter season the Point Reyes tule elk shed their antlers. Almost immediately after shedding them they began growing new antlers. Under that velvet skin the antlers are engorged with blood. At this early stage you can easily see evidence of blood-rich tissue. Below is a cropped version of the above photo showing the blood-rich tissue.
One thing I like about photographing during the winter at Point Reyes is the lush greens in the ranching areas. The rainy season is just about over and it will be just be a matter of time before the greens turn to browns. I was fortunate to see and photograph this male bobcat several times this winter. He was almost always on lush, green grass. I’d like to tell him I’m grateful for that. I haven’t seen him lately. I hope he’s OK. If you’d like a print of this image click here.
A while back I decided to do a series of posters featuring birds of Western North America. They are carried by the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Novato. Recently, I decided to do one featuring the wildlife of Marin County which is the county I live in just north of San Francisco. I started off with the idea of just doing mammals, but that has grown to include birds of Marin. The posters are for sale now at the Viewpoints Gallery in Point Reyes Station. That little town is located near the entrance to Point Reyes National Seashore. They are also available at Fabulous Framers in Novato and will soon be available at Wild Birds Unlimited in Novato. As it has turned out, most of the subjects were photographed in Point Reyes National Seashore. Here is a sample of what the posters look like. My favorite bobcat is my poster boy for this sample.
