Last Tuesday I made a post about a our recent trip to Elk County, today I will fill you in on the how productive our trip was. On Saturday our first stop was on the Quehanna Highway just outside of Medix Run. There we encountered a herd of approximately 20 Elk, mostly cows and calves with a couple of spikes and one bull. Of course the bull was camera shy and we never got any photos of him. From there we moved on to Benezette and up Winslow Hill. We never really seen Elk in the places we watched them in the past, the town was quiet but in the area of the Elk Diner we encountered a herd of 75 or more. In the herd was a couple of spikes, the mature bull posted last week and a rag horn along with many cows, many showing signs of being with calf and numerous calves. A few of the cows apparently were not bread during the rut as the bull was still showing signs of the rut lowering his head, bugling and chasing the cows around occasionally trying to mount some. He was answered numerous times by the satellite bull that was staying with the herd but away from the larger bull. This made the trip even better since Shane has never been with me for the rut so it was the first time he got to experience this type of activity. Leaving there we encountered a bull 2D along with two spikes and a rag horn in town (most of these you will see later). We did see one other bull as we were headed back to Medix Run. To see over 100 Elk the first afternoon made it a successful trip right from the start.
We went back Sunday morning and seen the same herds as Saturday but they did not provide the same photographic opportunities as they did on Saturday. We also lucked into a couple of turkeys on Winslow Hill and a flock of 30 or more just outside of Benezette. Of course none provided the chance to photograph them. We were lucky enough to photograph a red tailed hawk in the area of Dents Run, he stayed close to the road and would fly from spot to spot stopping long enough for us to get off a few shots. We only spent the morning and missed shooting in the snow because we wanted to go back to our room and watch the Daytona 500. Monday morning was not as good only seeing about 20 Elk and four gobblers but we still had a great time.
I am guessing we missed out on some better photographic moments as I was to scared to drive the other roads for fear of getting stuck in the snow, something you do not want to happen in an area without cell phone coverage and limited people. Look for many more photos from the trip in the near future. And tomorrow a message from the Pennsylvania Game Commission on the health of the Pa. Elk herd.
1 comment:
Looking forward to seeing those future photos. I've never seen that area of the country.
Post a Comment