jousting elk

Here we have two bull elk "jousting"; a ceremonial activity during the "rut." I watched as these two elk slowly approached each other, locked antlers, turned one way, then the other, again, and again, then released and slowly backed off. It wasn't violent as is the case with the bighorn sheep rams. Once finished the elk went back to eating as if nothing else had happened. Again, you can see how the neck is swollen. While I have seen "jousting" before, it is an amazing act of nature I never tire of.

Bugling Elk

Hello friends and welcome to The Azure Gate Blog.

Oddly enough, our first Blog will not be about Tucson. There will be plenty to write and share with you about our Bed and Breakfast, Tucson, and Southern Arizona. Christine and I had a wonderful trip to Miller Canyon and I took several hummingbird photos we'd like to share with you.

During the summer we take time off to see family and friends, and I like to take some extended photography trips (sometimes outside of Arizona).

I just returned from a photo trip to Northwestern Colorado where the Moose and Elk were quite willing to be photographed.

First. It is elk mating season. Bulls make eerie "bugle calls" to the females (cows). For those of you who haven't heard this sound, it is an almost painful screeching or crying often echoing across the meadow, valley, or canyon. As you can see from this photo, the bull's neck seems to change shape -- not too dissimilar to male salmon while breeding. This bull had about 15 cows around him. A younger and smaller bull occasionally charged the big guy -- but, no contest. The big guy would even chase a female who got too close. Guess he wasn't finished "strutting his stuff" and wanted center stage.