Whitetail Deer in Great Smokey Mountains

Posted on May 17, 2010 by

When I started to ponder the thought of Wildlife photography I immediately thought of Whitetails.  I am not sure if it was due to all the numerous hunting magazine photographs I have I have drooled over or the fact I have pursued them since the day I carried a Daisy air rifle.

So when the day came I wanted to photograph Whitetail Deer I began to wonder where could I travel to and photograph trophy bucks.  We decided we would travel to Cades Cove, TN.

Cades Cove is located in Tennessee just south of Seveirville in the Great Smoky National Park.  The “Cove” was once home to a small mountain community in the 1800′s who’s history is as rich as the wildlife that surrounds it.  The Cove is now an eleven mile loop around a mountainous valley planted annually with grasses and wild flowers.  Whitetail Deer, Black Bear, Turkeys and countless other wildlife can often be seen at a distance right off of the paved loop road from your vehicle.  But the problem with this is easy access to see these animals in the wild is just that, the “ease”.  The eleven mile paved road can be bumper to bumper with tourist during the fall.  Which is exactly when I wanted to go since the fall is when the pre-rut activity is in full swing.  But I didn’t want to be caught up in a traffic jam, after all we wanted to photograph wildlife not mini vans.

I also wanted to take full advantage of our time there so I corresponded with Bill Lea (http://www.billlea.com/).  He gave me some pointers as to where to spend most of our time in order to get the most photo opportunities on the trophy Whitetails.  We needed to focus our efforts on the dirt side roads Sparks and Hyatt Lanes, paying particular attention to the areas near the creeks.  Nothing left to do but load the truck and hit I40.

We traveled up the curvy mountainous road in what seemed complete darkness trying to be the first ones at the gate the first morning we were there.  We were greeted by a slight drizzling rain and a line of vehicles waiting for the Park Rangers to open the road.   Our plan was to do most of our travel via bicycle so parking and pulling off of the road would not be any problem.  Once in the Cove we were headed straight for Hyatt Lane but didnt make it far before we found several nice bucks feeding on lush clover.

Those few bucks would be the first of many over the next two days.  The rain and drizzle was nonstop during our two day visit to the cove.  However, I believe this kept the wildlife moving and feeding throughout the entire day multiplying our photo opportunities.  But with the clouds came technical issues struggling with enough light for correct exposures, trying to keep gear dry and of course trying to keep ourselves dry.  Which became even more of a tasks that night in a small tent with snow in the forecast.  Luckily we escaped the snow but woke up to the stars still hidden behind the rain clouds.

During the two days in the cove somehow we regrettably missed out on the Black Bear photo opportunities.  (Probably because Jeanie prayed for it to work out that way).  I now know the spring is the time to return for the bear photos.  I am eager to go photo the bears but I probably will not be able to coerce Jeanie out of the truck if we see any.

Cades Cove is a truly unique place.  It is  absolutely a photographers playground.  I believe a photographer could make a living just photographing the wildlife and landscapes in the cove.  I know we cant wait to go back this year!

Below are only a few of our photos we captured during our trip.  If you are ever remotely close to the “Cove” when going through Tennessee do yourself a favor and go back in time while you drive through the loop.

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Shackleford Banks Horses

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

I was asked recently by Jared LLoyed (http://jaredlloydphoto.com/) to help him with a workshop he was leading on the Horses of Shackleford.  I was to drive him and his clients over to Cape Lookout where we could have easy access to these unique horses.  We met Friday to spend the morning scouting and photographing of our own of course.

After a ride over to the Cape we found one harem on a secluded island grazing on the island grasses. There were four or five mares and one stallion.  We eased up and secured the boat and began to photograph the group.  We spent several hours standing in chest deep water shooting these horses.  Then finally they made the move we were waiting for, they began to make the swim over to the next island. That is when I started thinking to myself about how unique they really are.  Where else can you see completely wild horses swimming from one salt marsh to another?  And they are right here in our back yard!

The history of these horses are very controversial.  Some locals say they swam ashore from shipwrecked vessels off of the Cape Lookout Shoals.  But genetic testing and locations of nearest genetic relatives, put the horses of Spanish decent and most likely during the 1500′s.  There are several ways the horses may have ended up on the island.  One of the most probable is a failed attempt at colonization on the Island.  Another likely explanation involves the route of supply ships to the new world.  The supply ships carried livestock and supplies to the new colonies.  A very big commodity would have been the horse.  It was during thise time period that Sir Walter Raleigh sent out several different expeditions to the new world.  We know that during one of these expeditions all the ships ran aground off of Cape Lookout.  One ship had to unload all its livestock on the island in order to lighten the load so that it would float off of the shoals.  Regardless of how they originated on the island the horses have survived hurricanes, harsh winters, droughts and other adverse conditions for over 400 years.  Today there are only five populations of wild horses on the entire Atlantic Coast.

I have seen these horses a thousand times.  Never really gave them a lot of thought.  I did realize how unique they were but never really watched them.  This weekend I had a chance for the first time to really watch them.  And learn about their history.  I walked away with an entire new fondness for the horses of Shackleford.

A large amount of their time is spent eating.  They will consume 40lbs of food every day.  So this doesn’t leave much time for anything but grazing.  So admittedly it can get slow at times while trying to photograph them.  The horses remain in groups or “harems”.  The stallion in this group spent most of his time keeping the “harem” together.  He would not let any of the mares get too far without running them back to the group.  In the picture below the stallion is running one his mares out of the water and back to the others.

This photo illustrates the why we were in chest deep water with tripods and all.  We wanted this perspective of the horses.  When photographing these horses try and get the horse in the top portion of the frame.  We think of horses, especially Stallions, as these majestic and powerful creatures.  Put them in the top portion of the frame to help convey that message and feeling.

Although not my favorite photograph of the day I thought to include this one in the journal to show the habitat and terrain that these horses live in.

The stallions have a gland in the upper part of there mouth and they will roll the lips up to use this gland when testing the air for mares that are ready for mating.  This is what the stallion is actually doing but I thought it looked like he was grinning and it made me smile as well.

I will promise you that there will more photos of the horses to some this summer!  Already planning a trip back in a few weeks.

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Waterfowl Private Impoundments 2010

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

Again Waterfowl is my favorite subject!  This year I have gained access to photograph in some of the best private Waterfowl Impoundments in Eastern Carolina.  This includes our own impoundment to some that stretch out over several hundred acres.   Now that I have been to these once or twice and know where to go I am already looking forward to next year!

By the time I got all the permissions nailed down and met landowners etc it was already early March.  I missed a few of the returning migrations but by no means did I miss them all.  There were alot of Pintails, Ringnecks, Northern Shovelers but most of the waterfowl still here the days I photographed were Green and Blue Wing Teal.  And I mean by the thousands!

Drake Green Wing Teal dabbling on vegetation around the edge of the impoundment.

Hen Green Wing Teal

The Blue Wing Teal is one of our earliest Migrations.  They will normally migrate South around September.  The blue wings I photographed that day, I have all ideas, were definitely on the return migration North.

Blue Wing Teal

The Ring-Necked duck is also very common in Eastern NC.  The name derives from a very faint ring around the drakes neck that is rarely even visible.  They are diver ducks but prefer a lot of the same habitat that dabbling ducks do.  They prefer creeks and ponds over big open rivers and sounds.  It is said that they can dive for food up to depths of forty feet.  And they have been caught in fisherman’s nets at that depth.

Drake Ringneck

Drake American Widgeon

I am really excited about next winter now that I have some excellent locations nailed down for photographing these birds!  I am hoping to get up to Lake Mattumaskeet as well for the Tundra Swan.  So more to come!

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Waterfowl at Cambells Creek Impoundment

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

Waterfowl

Wow! Waterfowl!  What else can I say about my favorite thing to photograph.  The diverse species, habitat and conditions make for endless photographic opportunities.  However even with vast numbers of ducks calling our coastal plains and impoundments home for the winter, the waterfowl can be one of the most demanding local wildlife to photograph as well.

Since hunting Waterfowl is also a passion of mine most of the photography follows duck seasons.  After hunting pressure subsides the local impoundments will begin to fill up with ducks.  During this time in February early March there is no hunting pressure and we begin to get return migration flocks.  These birds are coming from places further South and making their way back to the North.  As with the Pintails in the photo to the right.  That particular day there were thousands of Pintails in the Cambells Creek Impoundment in Pamlico County.

Once the sun had risen enough I could see the Pintails on the other side of Impoundment.  With Pintails being one of my favourite Waterfowl I had to figure out how to get closer.  But the same daylight that made it possible for me to see them was going to make it impossible for me to get close.  Even with a 400mm lens I need to be 30-50 feet from the bird to fill the frame.  After studying the birds for a few minutes I noticed that every twenty minutes or so they would all get up and fly almost out of sight only to return to the same location.  Once I moved closer it didnt take long to see the reason they were so wrestless.

There was a Bald Eagle making his morning rounds looking for an easy breakfast.  Every time he made his sweep out over the water the ducks would part like the Red Sea!  I decided I would take advantage of this.  When the ducks would get up and move around I would too.  Finally after over an hour of stalking and crawling I got close enough to possibly get a few photos.

Here is my favorite Pintail shot of the morning.  You can see why I love these birds!

Here is another Pintail in flight a few moments later.

There were also large numbers of Green Wing Teal this is my favorite Teal shot of the morning.

While at Cambells Creek that morning I photographed numerous waterfowl.  But like the Bald Eagle you never know what else will present an opportunity. Such as this little guy that flew in and landed right in front of me and landed on a perch about 15 feet away.  This Kingfisher was more than cooperative and stayed there for several minutes.

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North American River Otter

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

The story Behind The Photo

I have been looking forward to this time of year to photograph waterfowl.  But recently while scouting in flooded timber for a location to get images of Wood Ducks, I found a very nice surprise!  Following a creek bank down through flooded timbers, I spotted ripples coming down stream towards me.  I couldn’t tell what it was but it was fairly large.  I crouched down behind a few small hardwood saplings and got the camera ready.  I was ready to shoot when I noticed there was also something swimming upstream.  As both directions closed in, I was surprised to see I was being invaded by otters.  I suddenly realized I was sitting down right in front of an otter den.  Within a few minutes, there was a total of five about 30 feet away.

I don’t know if you have ever sat and watched otters but they are very playful in nature and obviously find themselves extremely amusing.  The young otters were busy swimming on their backs and wrestling on and off logs as if playing “king of the hill”.  Unfortunately for me,they have a very keen sense of smell.  After one small wind gust in their general direction, one of them smelled something that just wasn’t right which immediately ended the photo shoot.

I waited three days and went back, tactfully went back to same location and waited several hours until dark. But they showed me what smart and shy creatures they are by not showing up.  Otters are known to be mostly nocturnal so it may take a few trips before they allow me to photograph them again.  Maybe next time I will take canned Salmon!

Facts:

The River Otter belongs to the Mustelidae family, with weasels,minks, and badgers.  They have an oily waterproof fur that keeps them warm and dry in aquatic environments.  If you have noticed their long cat like whiskers, these are used for finding food and navigating muddy waters.  The river otter was trapped to extinction in Western NC until 1992 when the Wildlife Resource Commission moved 47 otters from Eastern NC and placed them back into the rivers of Western NC.  They have made a successful come back in numerous parts of those rivers.  The most interesting fact I found is once a female is bred, she goes into a process called delayed implementation.  Instead of going into gestation immediately after being bred, her embryos remain dormant in the uterus for nine months.  At this point, the actual gestation begins and lasts about two months.

Technical:

Canon 30D
Lens= Canon 400 F5.6L
ISO 1600
Shutter Speed 1/80
400mm

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Osprey

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

Osprey

The Story Behind the Shot

One thing I have learned over the last few years taking wildlife photographs is to never leave home without your camera.  I’ve learned this the hard way by missing many opportunities!  On this particular day,  I was on my way to town and decided I would swing through Lawson Creek Park.  I have photographed this Osprey before and have learned where he likes to sit with his catch.

I guess animals are no different than humans; they have sociable days and non-sociable days.  There have been times when he wouldn’t let me stop the truck before he decided to find a different perch.  I have also learned that when approaching an animal that is a little timid, you never approach them directly.  After you have failed several times and the bird or animal you want to photograph flees, you begin to recognize the warning signs.   Walk in a zig zag type pattern until you think you’re close enough.  On this particular day, he was very co-operative and let me get fairly close while he ate his lunch.  After about ten minutes and numerous images, he was finished eating and dropped the remains for the begging seagulls waiting patiently nearby.

Fact:

The Osprey, sometimes called Sea Hawk, is a large raptor that can reach up to 24 inches in height and have a wing span of six feet.  The Osprey can be found in every corner of the world except Antarctica.  Their diet consist largely of fish, hence the alias Sea Hawk.  The average lifespan is 20-25 years of age.

They will nest near fresh or sometimes brackish bodies of water.  For the most part, Ospreys will not begin to breed until 3-5 years of age.   Surprisingly, if there is a shortage of nesting sites, it is stated that they may not breed until 6-7 years of age.  They will breed with their mate for life and will generally return to the same nest year after year.  They will spend almost five months raising their young from the nest.

The Osprey like other birds of Prey, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, were in rapid decline due to effects from DDT (synthetic pesticide).  The DDT effected egg shells making them very thin or infertile.

I did not realize this until recently but the majority of Ospreys in North Carolina and America will migrate to South America during winter months, with a few stopping short in Florida.

The Osprey makes a call like this.

Technical:

Canon 30D
Lens=Canon 400.56L, with Kenco 1.4 Teleconverter
ISO 200
Shutter Speed  1/1000
Aperture F8
560 mm

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