Lower Klamath NWR at Sunset

The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is mostly in California along the border with Oregon. The closest city is Klamath Falls in Oregon. There is also an Upper Klamath NWR entirely in Oregon. As a wildlife photographer you try to get as much daylight as you can. This is advantageous because many animals are seen more in the early morning and late afternoon. But it also means you get to see a great many sunrises and sunsets. But, when you have been out for 14 or 16 hours, it's easy to drive right by a sunset on your way to a hot bath and a hot meal. Usually when I do this I kick myself later. What would five more minutes have cost. So, at least this time I stopped.

Sunset at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

If you are ever driving along on Interstate 5, east of Sacramento, and you have an hour or more, stop in at The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and take the auto tour. There is much to see: every kind of water bird that is found in the Western US; ground birds like pheasants and grouses; hawks and falcons, deer, bobcats, jackrabbits. I have been there ten or so times and it has never failed to provide very good photos.  It is a wildlife photographers haven.

Sunrises and Sunsets - Part I

The sunrises have been particularly beautiful the last few days. So, I thought I would share some of my sunrises and sunsets with you. I must start, however, by admitting that I am not a landscape photographer. Landscapes seem overwhelming to me; even unphotographable most of the time. It's not that I don't appreciate landscapes, I do. That's a huge reason why I spend time in the wilderness. It's just that I don't know how to really capture what I see. On my last trip up to Jackson County, Colorado, I passed through Monument Valley at 5:30 in the morning. It was just before sunrise. So, I pulled off to the side of the road and waited for a photograph. This is the result: Sunrise in Monument Valley.

Brothers Moose

Here's another "tip" for wildlife photographers. Check the "hunting" calendar before planning your trip. Case in point: It was my first trip into Jackson County, Colorado to look for moose. It was the week after labor day. My thinking was, everybody would be back in school or back to work, summer is over etc. I arrived late at night, and to my surprise there was only one room available in all of Walden. I didn't think much of it at the time, so, bright (well, actually it was dark) and early the next morning I went out looking for my moose. As I was headed up over Cameron Pass I would stop every so often to look down into the creek by the side of the road. Eventually, I found what I was looking for: two young bulls. I watched them for quite a while taking photos more discriminately than I do now (because I was still using 35 mm slide film).  After a while, a hunter came along. We talked for a bit. It was his first "hunt." I soon realized that if I left one of these two moose would be dead. So, I stayed for about an hour and a half until the hunter left, and the moose started climbing back up the mountain. Everywhere I went that day I saw hunters (with guns of course). This wasn't exactly what I had in mind. First, I don't understand the killing of wildlife. Be that as it may, I must respect the rights of hunters to hunt legally. But, moose? Where's the sport in hunting moose? Moose are docile creatures. They don't run away when they see you. They are as big as a school bus (not really) so it would be close to impossible to shoot and miss one. Then what are you going to do? These moose probably weigh close to 1000 pounds. So, the next day, bright and early I headed out to Yellowstone National Park where it was illegal to carry guns into the park. Now, I always check the state's hunting schedule before planning a trip.

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park is in a word: "spectacular." Snow covered mountains rising several thousand feet above the landscape. But, Grand Teton National park has been one of America's most controversial. The Teton Mountain Range and six glacier lakes were made into a National Park by Congress in 1929, but not without much anti-park sentiments from landowners in the area. John D. Rockefeller Jr. had bought 35,000 acres and tried for 15 years to give it to the Department of Interior to be part of the National Park. Congress would not approve because of local pressure. So, Rockefeller gave President FD Roosevelt an ultimatum.  It worked, FDR made it a National Monument along with another 150,000 acres in 1943. Finally, in 1950 all were combined by Congress to its current configuration as The Grand Teton National Park. Again, there had to be a compromise. The biggest of which was an agreement that in the future, presidential proclamation could never again be used to create a National Monument in Wyoming. So, Wyoming has the distinction of having the first National Park (Yellowstone) , but also the distinction of being the only state out of the 50 states in which a new National Monument cannot be created.  It is home to the Trumpeter Swan which is the largest bird in North America. It is also home to Bison, Pronghorn, Elk, and Moose. In fact, estimates are that more moose live in Grand Teton than in Yellowstone. In one of the very few "back roads" (Moose-Wilson Road) are a series of marshes. Rarely have I gone through this area without finding a moose such as the female above. Moose love to forage in ponds and shallow lakes. They dip their head into the water pull up as much vegetation as they can, raise their head and all the water comes out as if going through a sieve. Then they start chewing. This female was having a "Grand" time and seemed completely unconcerned about the controversy. To her it was home no matter what you called it.

I'm In The Mood For Moose

So, there I was looking for Moose in Jackson County Colorado. Moose in the Western US (Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah) are Shiras Moose, the smallest of the six moose subspecies. The Alaskan Moose is the largest. Two other subspecies exist in the US: the Eastern Moose (in New England); the Western Moose (in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota). The other two subspecies are the European and the Siberian. Okay, back to Colorado. The main town in Jackson County is Walden, about 60 from Laramie, Wyoming. Although Walden has three or so motels, it has only one restaurant. I normally keep a ice chest with sandwich stuff so I can eat while I'm out in the wild. Then after dark come back to town and get something warm to eat. There are about 1000 moose in Colorado. On my second day, I saw this large -- but young -- bull off in a field of oak brush. I worked my way down the embankment to the flats where he was eating. I was able to spend about 45 minutes taking photos. As I turned around to walk back to where I had parked I saw a pine marten running through the snow. Did manage to get a couple of photos, but not good enough to show you. I spent the next hour or so trudging through the snow looking for the marten, but without luck. I always wonder how many wild animals have seen me, but I haven't seen them?

It's Moose Time Again

We have more rain today, so I am sitting at my computer -- as are many of our guests. And, I am thinking about Monday's blog. I came across this photo which, at the time I thought would be great. And, in many ways it is quite good: I have the entire moose; he is very large with very large antlers; long beard; there's even pond in the background to show the habitat; there's a small fir tree in the lower right hand corner that adds color and size dimensions without obstructing the moose; the moose is active. I only had this one opportunity to capture him since I was standing between two trees and this was the only clear view. It was going to be perfect. And, snap I thought it was. Yet it is not. The problem is that the moose's antlers shade his face so you don't get a clear view of the head and eyes. Why couldn't he have looked my way at this very moment? That would have moved the shadow off the face. You travel for a day or more to get to an area where there are moose. You search for hours looking for moose. You find a very large moose in the perfect setting. But the sun is in the wrong place. You get one opportunity until he turns his back to you and walks away. And, yet I find myself only marginally disappointed, because I got to see this magnificent animal.