Sunrise On Winslow Hill...

Yesterday I mentioned being in northern Pennsylvania for the rut and that the shooting was not as good as last year. I did not bring home as many keepers as last year, some were because there was not as much action, some because I was not always in the right place and others because I did not always perform with the camera like I should have. The one thing I did bring home was many silhouettes this one was taken last Wednesday morning as the sun was starting to come up. The sky took on a pink appearance and this bull showed up on top of the hill. It turned out to be one of my favorites from the trip. This particular morning was one of the better times, I video taped a fight between bull 8A and another when it was to early to get photos and I photographed the same two bulls fighting again. That fight lasted for some time but they were in a slight hollow forcing me to listen to them for some time before they came into sight. Later that same evening the same two bulls did quite a bit of posturing but never actually fought. The sites and sounds were great but most of the time it was too early or too late to photograph. I rely on this trip to give me photos to spread out over a couple of months but I don't think I got enough quality shots to do that this year.

I Am Back...

A few of you were aware of my recent travels bust most of you did not know that I have been gone the last week or so. I am finishing up my last tour of vacation for the year and what a time to take off. The phone still rang to let me know that the Mayor called us the nastiest group of men she ever worked with (funny thing is she never worked with us), the we were not going to get paid last Wednesday (we did but for firefighters this is the second pay in a row that we have not been paid for all of the hours we work) and then that the city is going to hire a bankrupt attorney and that they are going Act 47 distressed city. Can I get a few more decades off, please?

Anyways the time off was great, first up was heading to Elk County for the elk rut. This was my second year to do the elk rut here in Pennsylvania and even thought this years was nothing like last years I still think it is much better than out west. I think a couple of the reasons for the rut being slow was because is was very warm last week and as luck would have it many of the days it rained. Friday morning was my last day there and the rut seemed to be in full swing for the first time when I was there, I think I shot more photos that day than all week. I would have loved to stay longer with the temperatures down but I needed to get home to go to Boy Scout camp. With all the tourist that come in over the weekends up there I guess it was for the best that I was leaving. Yes I mentioned Boy Scout camp, I got home Friday afternoon unloaded the truck got ready and reloaded the truck to head to Wizard Safari along with Troop 180 and 3,000 other boys. It was a fun weekend and the boys had a great time but it sure was great to get home and sleep in my own bed for a change. You can expect to see more of the rut soon along with some of the great people I got to spend time with. Every year I make more friends while I am there and I can't wait for next years already. A couple more days of this vacation and it will be back to work.

By the way please visit Shane's blog for a new post today.

Albert Squirrel...

This critter is called an Albert Squirrel, I would liked to have shown you a live one but I never encountered one on our recent vacation. The Albert Squirrel is native to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and surrounding area . They are not found any other place in the world. That alone made me want to photograph one more than anything and we tried. We talked to employees and rangers on places to find them. We went for walks in those areas and spent time driving around just to find one but it never happened. These squirrels are large about 20 inches including the tail, they have tasseled ears and a grey tail with white underneath. These squirrels differ from others as they do not hibernate in the winter or hide their food but continue to forage all winter. The feast on ponderosa pine seeds, inner tree bark and summer mushrooms. Not finding any I was forced to photograph a stuffed one behind glass in the visitors center.

The Cycle Of Life...

These may not be the prettiest of photos but they are part of the cycle of life. These turkey vulture's were feasting on a dead mule deer near the northern rim of the Grand Canyon. When you spend enough time following and photographing wildlife sooner or later you find animals eating other animals and occasionally you even get to witness the kill. It is not a pleasant sight but it is part of nature and occurs many times every day.

Please visit Shane's blog for a new photograph today.

Early Morning SNP..

This is another early morning whitetail buck from SNP taken this past June. While out in the big meadows I had numerous opportunities to photograph these bucks in great back lit situations. The problem was when it came time to post process them, I was not sure how to do it. This is my attempt right or wrong.

Please visit Shane's blog today for a new photograph.

Nevada Big Horns...

These are not the best of photographs, taken around noon in bright sun and 100+ degree heat but with my track record when it comes to big horn sheep I snapped away. I have gone many places where big horn sheep exist, Glacier, Yellowstone, Alaska and just don't have the luck. I have photographed a few before but never a large ram. These were taken during our recent vacation out west. We found these three near the visitors center at the Valley of Fire State park in Nevada. I think Shane got some better ones as I gave him my bigger lens to use when the ram approached us closer and seemed to pose for photogrpahs.

More From The Eisenhower Farm...

The one neat thing about the Eisenhower event is that it draws groups of people that portray the Russians (second photo), Polish (first photo), Canadian, French and other troops that fought in the war. These living historians are a wealth of knowledge and I always enjoying learning from them. Looking at the first photo you will see that the Polish soldier is using a Thompson and we found out at this event that the Russians also had some Thompson's. I think they are some of the coolest guns around but I do not think it would have been my weapon of choice in the war.

Please visit Shane's blog today for a new photo. And what do you know a whole week of new photos for a change. Maybe I can do that more often in the future with fall coming.

WW2 Weekend At The Eisenhower Farm...

On the past two post I mentioned that Shane and I attended the World War 2 weekend at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg on Saturday. This years event was as good as last years but for some reason I was just not into taking photographs like I usually am. I did record a few and here is two of American GI's. It was still a good day as we spoke to numerous people we have gotten to know from attending so many of these of the last few years. Shane also got the application and information needed to join a venture crew that takes part as the 45Th infantry division. Now we are hoping to have him outfitted and in action by the Battle of the Buldge in January.

Redtail Hawk Struck By Car Conclusion...

When I left you yesterday the bird had been retrieved from the side of the road and we were awaiting trained help. It was decided to take the bird across the road and place it in a covered shaded area. The gentleman that picked the bird up moved on and Shane, the Franklintown fire chief Mike Whitzel and myself waited for the game commission to arrive. At about 4:50 p.m. a deputy arrived and placed the hawk in a cage to be transported to York County and a woman that deals with injured birds.

Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from the Mike Whitzel (the fire chief) to bring me up to speed on the injured Hawk. It turned out the woman we had been trying to get a hold of no longer had the permits required to work with these birds. The Deputy transported the injured Hawk to another facility in Helam Twp., York county to be treated. What we have been told so far is that there were no broken bones but the bird had taken a serious blow to the head. The one eye is in question and the bird will be kept there for several months to be brought back to health and see if the eye recovers. If the eye does not recover enough to allow the Hawk to hunt and be released he will be placed in a zoo type setting to live out the rest of his life. Thanks for the update Mike.

This reminded me of last August when Shane and I came across the Elk stuck in a swing set in Benezette. He recovered fully and this year his antlers grew normally with the exception of one tine in the front that is all white. I am hoping to come across this bull soon and photograph him. If I do the photos will be posted here.

It is Tuesday already so please visit Shane's blog for a new photo today.

Redtail Hawk Struck By Car Part 1...

This Saturday Shane and I attended to World War II weekend at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg (more from that later). On the way home while traveling the Williams Grove Road in Monroe Twp. Cumberland County we noticed a redtailed hawk standing alongside of the road looking very out of place (around 3:41 p.m.). About that time I noticed the Franklintown fire chief walking along side the road to check on the bird. After a quick check of is the bird injured I decided to pull over to see what I could go. As he began to make phone call we learned that the game commission had already been called but no estimate of arrival time was given. We both felt the hawk was either flying into pick up prey or had dropped his prey and was attempting to retrieve it when it was struck by an auto mobile. With in a few feet of the bird was a smashed rat on the road that was probably the meal in question. As we observed the bird most of the time he kept his eyes shut and appeared to be labored in his breathing occasionally loosing his balance when a larger auto drove by.

It was decided to try and help the bird in another way if we could, Shane began to look up places on the net while I called home to have Linda look up numbers for bird rescues or veterinarians. At the same time the local fire chief (sorry for not remembering your name) was making the phone calls to try and get some help. As it would be we constantly struck out. At about 4:30 another man stopped and said he had some knowledge and history with birds of prey. Up to this point we attempted to keep the bird safe from oncoming traffic but did not try and retrieve the bird because we did not have the proper hand protection. He retrieved his gloves and a towel from his truck and picked the bird up. It is not known just how long the hawk stood in the harsh afternoon sun close to traveling vehicles. The hawk gave up very little resistance when he was picked up and allowed the man to hold him with little to no movement. It was at that time that we realized that the side facing away from us had been struck and that the bird had suffered potentially severe injuries.

I did not take any closeup photographs while the man held the hawk. More and the conclusion tomorrow.

The Elk Rut Is Almost Here...

From accounts I am reading on the net the Elk rut is beginning, now lets just hope it waits to reach its peak later in the month. I wanted to make a pre-rut post but reading my regular blog list I have found that everyone else has already beat me to it. Willard Hill recently reported that from accounts he is getting that the rut is starting here in Pennsylvania. His brother Coy recently made a post on the upcoming rut and so has Haney. I also read that Bob Shank and his son are making a day trip there this weekend to see what activity is occurring. I will be looking forward to Bob's post to find out what is happening up north. By the time I arrive Willard and Coy will already be in the area and have things scouted out, hopefully they will be able to send me in the right direction when I get there. Bob is also scheduled to be there the same week and I am looking forward to meeting up with these guys along with Steve and Buckwheat for some great sites, sounds and photography. Sadly Haney will not be making the trip this year, now I do not know who to stand behind when a bull Elk is bearing down on us. I must say the best part of the trip this year may be no phone, sirens or Harrisburg.

To see more Camera Critters click this link.

Early Morning Light At SNP...

I know more old stuff, maybe one of these days I will find my cameras and get out and get something new. But for now more whitetail deer from my June trip to SNP. The bucks were photographed in the Big Meadow during the early morning hours when the lighting is very golden. These to played for awhile but never gave me that great photo opportunity, except once and I messed it up. I will post those sometime as crappy photo day.

Please visit Shane's blog today for a new photo.

More SNP Bucks In Velvet...

Another short post today, these are two more SNP bucks in velvet photographed this June.

Please visit Shane's blog today for a new post.

Velvet Buck...

I almost skipped today's post on both blogs, if you are someone that looks at both sorry about the fire site yesterday I just forgot to post something. I have no problems with the views I have just not had the time and like everything else in life sometimes you just feel like you need a break. With that said I will keep the rest of this short. A week or so a go I posted about Elk and their antlers covered with velvet. The whitetail deer is no different than the Elk so here is a photo of one of this years bucks from SNP covered in velvet.

Whitetail Fawns...

These whitetail fawns were photographed this June at SNP. I am sure I won't recognize them on my next trip there but I hope to see these and many more again this year. Today's post is short as I am at a loss for words and time.

For more Camera Critters click this link.

More Wildlife...

I will get back to posting other things soon but I have been enjoying looking back over the wildlife files so you get it again today. With the upcoming season I hope to reload the hard drive with many more new whitetail and Elk photos and if I am lucky maybe a bear or two and some small game. These were taken this June in Elk County the two calves were one of the few that turned out well, there was seven in the herd but with the low light the shutter speeds were slow enough that any movement created a blurry photograph. This young bull should do some bugling this year but I doubt he will compete for any cows for another couple of years. Hopefully he will be spared by hunters and grow up to be a major player.

Please visit Shane's blog today for a new post. If you have not been there for some time he has posted some pretty neat baseball photos lately.

3RD Anniversay...

Welcome to the 3RD anniversary post on my photo blog (#803). Instead of coming up with something new I decided to put up photos that have appeared over the last three years. I set out to put up my personal favorites, not knowing how many I would post after going through the file it ended up at 16 photographs. These favorites may not be technically correct or my best but they are my favorites for various reasons. For some of you that have been with me all along you will have seen them before but for the newer viewers some of these will be new to you. Do you have any favorites of mine? Did I post any of them here or did they not make my cut? Here is hoping I stay with it for another three years.

People vs Wildlife...

Over the years while out watching and photographing wildlife I have seen all kinds of stupid things that people can do. One of the questions I get asked is why do you wear camo in some of the areas when the animals are acclimated to people. That is simple so the people do not see me. Unfortunately I have not always photographed all the stupid things I have seen but I have started to. These particular two incidents occurred last year at SNP during the whitetail rut. In the first photo this woman walked a distance out through the big meadow with her dog to photograph this deer. That is right she had no concern for the other photographers that were keeping a distance and trying to get a natural photo. In the second one this guy chased this buck down to get the photo he wanted, I guess the bigger lens on his camera was not big enough. I have seen women walk up to sleeping Elk and shoot flash photos in their faces, kids and adults trying to pet the deer and people walking up to Buffalo's. But the worst was when the guy with the disposable camera walked hundreds of yards in front of dozens of photographers to get between two mature male moose during the rut to take a photo and then walk along with them the entire time keeping anyone else from getting a shot. Some people just deserve to get gored and when they do I hope I get the photo. With the approaching season I should see many more stupid things but this time I plan on photographing them.

Do you think these people don't know that wild animals have killed and cripples people? Some of these places the wildlife is acclimated to people but do they not realize that the first part of wild animal is WILD? Some people just do not get it.

Hey it is Tuesday already so please visit Shane's blog for a new post.