May

31

Spin Cycle

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Shot of the Month – May 2014

Eastern Moose, Maine -USA (6963)

 

Having moved to Vermont a few years ago I knew that one of my photo projects would be to try and get a decent image of one the marquee mammals of the American Northeast – da moose.   Such projects begin with desk research, or more accurately nowadays, Google search.  I scoured the internet for images of moose to get a sense of what’s possible, the best places to go, when to go, and so forth and so on.  I was surprised by how few, really interesting images that I could find.  Moose are large, rather gangly, and brown (similar to my dilemma with elephants, err, large and gray).  Moose are most active in the early morning or late afternoon so the light can often be very dark, which is not good when your subject is already brown.  A brown moose, standing still, in lackluster light. B-O-R-I-N-G.  Fun to see in person, but not a recipe for a noteworthy photo.

The best images I found were either taken with a moose in water or with a moose captured among the fall colors.

Based on my findings I imagined the “ideal” shot — I wanted to get an image of a bull moose standing in the water (lake, pond, or river would do) with water cascading off his massive antlers with a mountain forest covered in glorious autumn colors as a backdrop.  Piece of cake…

I learned that Maine was probably the best place to find moose in New England so I researched potential guides and called one to see if we could come to an arrangement.  I described my ideal shot.  The guide, admirable in his restraint, patiently explained why that combination of elements was pretty close to impossible.

What this flatlander boy didn’t realize was that Moose don’t have antlers year-round.  Bull (male) moose grow antlers starting in the spring and reach maximum size in the fall — just in time to battle other bulls for the right to mate with cow (female) moose who are coming into season.  With the rut over the antlers fall off at the beginning of winter as they are no longer needed and would be a huge burden (they can weigh 50 pounds) walking in the deep snow during a period when food is so scarce.  During the summer moose feed heavily on aquatic plants that are rich in sodium.  They will wade into a pond or lake and pull up lilies and pondweed.   Some moose will even dive underwater to reach some plants.

So here’s the rub.  Want big antlers and bright fall colors? Late September is the time to get that shot.  Want to find a moose eating in the water?  That happens during the summer, June-August.  By the time fall colors have arrived, most water lilies and aquatic plants have stopped growing so it will be really, really hard to find a moose feeding on them at that time.  Early in the summer moose can “regularly” be found in water dining but usually their antlers are fairly small and not fully developed.

Eastern Moose (6929)

A few seconds before we transcended “nice” photo status…

Reality RcAKGnLXi complete.

So, there I was in Maine’s Baxter State Park, with low expectations on an otherwise lovely June day when this bull moose walked out into the pond and began to dunk his head for a meal.  What he lacked in antler size he made up for in action.  Every once and a while the moose would shake his head like a dog to shake the water off (Note:  This was the ONLY moose I have seen do this).  Just the extra element I needed to take a “nice” photo into the realm of something special.

Most of the time the moose was standing perpendicular to my position so I could not get the full effect.  Mother Nature finally smiled upon me and the moose turned in my direction and decided to rinse off.  I held the shutter button down and kept firing as long as I could.  I instantly knew that I might have captured something special.

One may go many days, months, or even years in effort before those split-second opportunities flash by.  But one of the greatest joys of photography, when successful,  is that I can relieve that spectacular moment each day as I walk upstairs and pass by that image hanging on my wall.  🙂

 Until next month…

Apr

30

Seal of Confusion

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Shot of the Month – April 2014

Grey Seal, Maine-USA (3813)This month a visit with the “hooked-nosed sea pig.”  I know them sounds like fight’n words but this description is simply the translation of the scientific name of the Gray Seal, two of which are shown in this photo taken off the coast of Maine.

Halichoerus grypus = hooked-nosed sea pig

Check out the profile of the guy in the water and you can understand why folks in Canada also refer to them as the “horsehead” seal.

Males tend to have a dark brown-grey to black coat with a few light patches. Females are generally light gray-tan, lighter on the chest, with dark spots and patches.  Based on this, I posit that we have a male in the water and a female resting on the rocks above.

Gray seals are large — they are 8-10 feet in length and can weigh between 370-680 pounds.  Males can be twice the size of females.

Gray seals eat many types of fish though sand eels are a particular favorite. They can eat 11 pounds of food per day and can dive up to 250 feet in search of prey.  The seals are opportunistic feeders and will eat the occasional sea bird, octopus, lobster…   

 

Gray Seal Range Map

The gray seal lives in three distinct populations (total global population is about 300,000):

1.  Western Atlantic (population 150,000):   Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States

2.  Eastern (130,000 – 140,000):  Great Britain, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, and Russia

3.  Baltic Sea (7,500)

 

 

Have a hard time remembering the difference between sea lions and seals?  I feel your pain.  Here’s the skinny.

The term “seal” is rather vague and captures a range of creatures that are categorized into 3 taxonomic families.  

1. True Seals (Phocidae):  There are 18 types of true seals — members of this group  do not have visible ears and use a belly crawl to get around on land.  Gray seals are member of this family.

2.  Eared Seals (Otariids):  There are 15 types of this seal — members of this group can rotate their hind flippers forward and “walk” on land.  They also have pinnae.  Sea lions are found here.

3.  Walrus (Odobenidae):  The only member of this family is the walrus.  The walrus is easily recognized by its large size and tusks.

Sea Lion                                                                                                                                    True Seal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, all sea lions are seals.  But not all seals are sea lions.  Got it?  If you are still confused, here is a nice article on the differences.

When it comes to seals, the gray seal, however, is the real deal.

Until next month….m

Mar

31

Berry Serious

Shot of the Month  Posted by / 7 comments

Shot of the Month –  March 2014
Cedar Waxwing, Vermont - USA (2632)In the Northeast, you know that Spring is just about sprung when your local berry tree is suddenly just, a tree.   What happened to the berries?   Most likely, Cedar Waxwings is what happened.

With the change of seasons marauding hoards of Cedar Waxwings, returning from warmer locales, descend upon a laden tree and devour all the fruit in 1-2 days before moving on to the next buffet location.

I shot this photo by two fruit trees just outside of my office building in February 2014.  The scene was comical as suddenly a few dozen birds would appear and the berries started “poppin.”   Standing underneath the trees I was repeatedly pelted as berries bounced off my head as some fell loose or as the birds cast aside those fruit deemed unacceptable.

Cedar Waxwings are one of the few North American birds that specialize in eating fruit and are considered mainly frugivorous (yep, it’s a word).

In the early summer, they eat strawberries, mulberries, and serviceberries. By later summer they have shifted to raspberries, blackberries, cherries, and honeysuckle berries.  In late fall and winter, they forage for juniper berries, grapes, crabapples, mountain ash fruits, rose hips, cotoneaster fruits, dogwood berries, and mistletoe berries. (source)

That’s a lot of berries.

Because they eat so much fruit, Cedar Waxwings occasionally become intoxicated or even die when they run across overripe berries that have started to ferment and produce alcohol.

During the summer Cedar Waxwings will supplement their fruity diet with protein-rich insects like mayflies, dragonflies, and stoneflies that they often catch on the wing over water, “flying like tubby, slightly clumsy swallows.” (I love that description)

While most birds hatch in early summer, the Cedar Waxwings nest in late summer to ensure a rich supply of berries for their young.

During the mating season, males often pass a small item like a fruit, insect, or flower petal, to the female. After taking the fruit, the female usually hops away and then returns giving back the item to the male. They repeat this a few times until, typically, the female eats the gift. (source)

Ahhh, the mighty berry — it determines where Cedar Waxwings go, when they go, helps in finding a mate, and influences how they raise their young.

Let the games begin:

 

 

 

Feb

28

The Otter Challenge

Shot of the Month  Posted by / 3 comments

Shot of the Month – February 2014

North American River Otter, Yellowstone National Park - US (2222)The highlight of our trip to Yellowstone National Park in January 2014 was the 45 minutes we watched 3 North American River Otters along a mostly frozen river.

I challenge anyone to watch an otter for 10 minutes and not have his/her spirits lifted. Watch an otter family and the time drops to 2 minutes or less before one’s worries are whisked away.

Of course, I may be a bit biased in this assessment — I have been known to hang out at the otter display at the zoo for an hour or more, captivated by their antics.

Otters seem to infuse a sense of joy into everything they do.  They never seem to miss an opportunity to rub against a member of the group and share affection.  And “play” is a big part of otter life for both young and adults alike. At Yellowstone, we watched as the otters bounded through the snow like a mustelid Tigger.  The otter in my photo seemed to have a grand ol’ time as he slid up and down the skeleton runs they had created in the snow.

It was like watching a frenetic winter decathlon — at any given moment one otter or another was diving into the swirling currents (probably hunting for fish, their preferred food),  stopping for a quick nuzzle with a sibling, running and sliding on a nearby drift, popping out of the rapids for a good shake, and so on.

I could have watched all day.

 

Otters are best seen in action.  A few videos to brighten your day (at the risk of otter overload):

 

Yellowstone otters doing what they do best (the narrative is a bit cheesy…):

Cutest otters E-V-E-R (show this one to your children and be sure to watch till the end):

Otter and dog friendship:

Otter rock juggling:

Jan

31

Give me a home where the buffalo roam…

Shot of the Month  Posted by / 6 comments

Shot of the Month – January 2014

American Bison, Yellowstone NP-USA (1401)It began well.

I had the good fortune to visit Yellowstone National Park a few weeks ago (January 2014).  The dramatic landscape of mountains, rivers, and forests is painted in primary hues of white (the Snow!), much white; but also blue (the Sky!), green (the Trees!) and brown (the Wildlife!).  I saw my first wild American Bison.  You can’t fully appreciate how big these creatures are until one walks within 20 feet of you.  The bison herds were one of our more constant companions.  We saw them each day, often with their heads deep in the snow looking for a meal.

A bison herd at the base of a mountain along the bend in a river. Driving snow. Quick, someone call Norman Rockwell.

Once I got back I was looking forward to learning more about the bison and sharing some tidbits with a photo.

But then it went, less well.

In my research, I rediscovered those facts that I learned so dispassionately as a child.  It went something like:  There used to be lots of bison in the West.  We killed most of them.  The West was won and we became a great country.

Original Bison Range

Where the buffalo once roamed…

This time, however, it was much more personal.  Let’s go back to the killing part.  There used to be at least 50,000,000 bison in North America.  They may have been the most numerous large animal on earth.

Fifty million.         F—i—f—t—y     M—i—l—l—i—o—n.

Mull that over for a bit.   As America rushed to “settle” the West in the 1800’s the bison were a nuisance.  The onslaught began.  The railroad companies didn’t like how the bison were causing delays to their trains and damaging their tracks.  The companies ….” offered tourists the chance to shoot bison from the windows of their coaches, pausing only when they ran out of ammunition or the gun’s barrel became too hot.” 

Bison killing contests were held.  A Kansan set a record of killing 120 bison in 40 minutes.  For mind-splitting irony, listen to the Kansas state song while you read on.   “Buffalo” Bill Cody was hired to exterminate bison and managed to kill 4,000 in 2 years of effort.  In just one winter (1872-73) the demand for bison hides in the East drove professional hunters to kill 1.5 million bison (source).

The US government actively promoted the extinction of the bison as a way to destroy the Plains Indians whose entire way of life was based on the food and materials provided by those herds.   Troops were ordered to kill bison at will.  In 1874 President Ulysses S. Grant vetoed a Federal bill to protect the dwindling bison herds.  In 1875 General Philip Sheridan pleaded to a joint session of Congress to slaughter the remaining herds in order to defeat the Indians (source).

The only good bison is…

In less than 100 years the slaughter was complete.

By 1890 there were less than 1000 bison left. (Estimates range from 541 to 750 individuals)

The number of wild bison alive today is about 12,000.  The largest wild herd in the US is found in Yellowstone and includes about 4,000 animals.

You may have heard that there are 500,000 bison and while that number is correct, don’t be overjoyed.  Other than those 12,000 all the rest are raised in private commercial farms like cows and have often been crossbred with cattle.

I photographed the bison above during a heavy snowfall.  I have brightened the image to cause the snow to consume the bison around the edges.  I  added grain to the image to give the sense of looking at an old photo of a time long past.  I don’t want you to see the true bison because it doesn’t exist anymore.  Only a notion of that creature remains.  The bison that was, a member of a herd that covered a continent, is no more.  We worked really hard to scratch that animal out of the American landscape and no park, no matter how magnificent it is, can make that right again.

I am not sure which is more powerful, my sadness or my rage, over what we did to this amazing creature.  Or, over what it says about my species.