Happy New Year Everyone. My new children’s book “Whose Butt” is a favorite with kids. Order a copy for your child or grandchild.
9-14-12
Waking at 4 AM in total darkness is a normal part of my life, whether I like it or not. I roll over and think about the day ahead of me. I am pondering my possibilities and I can’t help but be excited. It’s what always motivates me to get out of bed. It was five years ago since my last visit to Rocky Mountain National Park and I am looking forward to getting up and see what the day has in store for me in the magnificent park.
Driving in the darkness I head up into the mountains to where I know several open meadows where the elk are gathering. It is the peak of the mating season, called the rut so my planning is very good. A single male, called a bull, will gather a group of females, called cows, in harems.
Arriving in the dark, I step from my truck and right away I can hear the bull elk bellowing their high-pitched wail followed by a series of grunts and groans. It promises to be a good morning. The sky is clear and the stars are shinning. I wish for it to be a bit colder so I can see the steamy breath coming from the bull elk when they bugle but I will have to settle for 37 F temperatures.
Down the valley to the east the sky is starting to glow with a steal blue color. A orange color outlines the rim of the mountains. I can start to see ghostly figures of elk out in the meadows. The birds are starting to chirp and call back and forth. The Black-billed Magpies are happily greeting the new day.
I know I have about 30 minutes before the golden light of the morning will come streaming into the valley. When it does it will be magic light time. This is the light a wildlife photographer dreams about. Everything looks good in this golden morning light.
I gather up the gear, put my big camera on my tripod and sling the smaller camera and lens over my shoulder. I have heavy boot and overalls to protect from the morning frost and for crossing several small streams. As the sun breaks over the mountains and the valley lights up I head out into the meadow.
A large bull elk is bugling, announcing he is in charge of these cows and this valley. This particular male is so big and carries such a large set of antlers that no other males bother coming around and challenging him for his harem.
The night before I watched a large bull walk in a straight line for nearly a half mile down a narrow valley and right up to a male who was attending a small group of 6 or 7 cow elk. The big challenger just waltzed right in and confronted the resident male.
There was no mistaking what was going to happen. The resident male had no choice to but fight. The larger challenger was so confident of his size and strength that he didn’t even slow down upon his approach. Within seconds the two were locked, antler to antler in a potentially deadly pushing and shoving match. Being gored with a antler is a slow and death.
The fight lasted only a minute or so and the larger challenger drove off the weaker resident male. The challenger was in charge of the harem. Now he had to heard the group of females back up the valley to join his main group of cows. It was a marvelous moment and I captured a number of wonderful images.
Back in the morning light I can see at least two large bull elk in the meadow. All I need to do is walk the quarter mile and cross a small stream and I should be able to capture some great images. The morning light is so amazing and my hopes are high. I start to walk out into the meadow. Before I can get more than a couple feet into the meadow the heard of elk start to move up the slope and into the forest. Under my breath I am trying to sweat talk the elk into staying out in the beautiful morning light and not go into the forest. Within minutes I can see that my plans of capturing some elk in perfect morning light will be dashed. Well at least I got some decent sparing images the night before. So goes the life of a wildlife photographer. Until next time
Stan Tekiela is a author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Facebook.com and Twitter.com or you can find him on the web at www.naturesmart.com.
The aspen trees have turned gloden