One critter that knows how to celebrate spring are Bison. Heck … the kids are bright burnt red when they are born! Or, are they orange? Whatever color, they are a ball of energy bouncing across the grasslands amongst their big parents with springs in their legs. They run through the herd, bounce off other adults, bounce off each other and then as fast as they run, they stop, lay down and catch their breath, just to bounce back up and start it all over again. They start this celebration of life not too long after birth and keep it up for a month or so and then they settle down into rhythm of the herd that slowly moves across the landscape.

I’ve returned to one of my all time favorite places, South Dakota Blackhills to spend time amongst its brilliant spring green hills with all its critters. The Bison have just dropped their calves and being amongst them during the spring is simply brilliant! Photographing them actually is as simple and relaxing of any critter photography. I’ve rented a small SUV so I am as low to the ground I can be. I find Bison that are on a slope so the combination makes it appear in the photograph I’m laying on the ground with them though I’m in the safety of my vehicle. I’m up with the sun catching the herd as they wake and start feeding. I prefer them with backlit and use the reflection of the vehicle acting as a big fill. That’s what I’ve got going here. Shooting with the Z 6II / Z70-200f2.8 / Z1.4x, the Animal Eye-detection I don’t even get out of the truck, I just look for the cuteness close by and go click. I’ve shot this pose a few times in the past and love it cause of the size comparison of kid and mom. All I can say is, spring kids are great!

I’m a history nut and when it came to California critter history, I’m possessed! It started in the early ’80s, a burning desire to understand how the Grizzly Bear fit into the wildlife landscape of days gone by. Since they were extinct I had to search elsewhere starting in Yellowstone and then Alaska. Twenty years later, I had nearly 80,000 images of Alaska Griz in the files spending hundreds of hours with them in the field mostly watching, often photographing. It was in early 2000 I made my first journey to visit the giants, the Kodiak Brown Bears. Flying in a Wigeon, we flew into Frazier Lake for an intimate day with bruins. It was just the four of us, Sharon, Brent, Jake & I and the bears, it was magical leaving an impression that is hard to express in words. I’ve not been back with them since and it left a void that one can only understand if they spent time amongst the bears. I’m not under some grand illusion that they accepted my presence, more tolerated but none the less, they go about their lives as I watch, love and photograph them. That void was filled in the most grand and brilliant way last week that I want to share with you over many posts.

I’ll start with this six year old female that was most definitely the most endearing of them all. The photo will bring the most obvious of questions to light. “How close was she?” Just 30 yards max when this photo was taken but she got closer. “Weren’t you scared, I would be?” Hell no! She approached on her terms at her speed and within her comfort range. And she wasn’t the only one to do so during our time at the river mouth but she was the one that kept tuggin at my heart strings. This gorgeous 700lbs bear (Kodiak are the biggest of them all) over and over again would endear herself by her actions so that you wanted to curl up with her and take a nap. If you have a dog, a puppy to be exact, many of her actions would remind you of that puppy as it would slide on its belly scooting up to get another bite of grass. Or as it starred at the Bald Eagles flying overhead in total bliss. The fact that a critter capable of running you over in a matter of seconds and never look back never enters your mind. All you feel is an amazement for this gentle giant, what I consider the world’s most perfect couch potato just feet in front of you, eating grass. Spending hours upon hours last week amongst the twenty-two individual bears rarely seen by any other human in a region rarely visited by man in this day and age brings with it an inner satisfaction I would love to share with you all. My void of the past years has been refilled, a passion reignited. There is so much more of the story to share, bear with me.

This time of year when critters are in the process of making new babies is a golden opportunity to show your sense of humor through them! For example, birds when they mate have their own rituals to keep the pair bond like these Green Jays. The female “talks” to the male a lot, giving him encouragement to get food to telling him to drive off the competition. Some of this is done with calls from a distance and some, like above, is done up close and personal. Keying in on the biology is how you and your lens is in the right place at the right time. After that, it’s just your sense of humor that brings the color, light and gesture to the story.

Some species like Cardinals, the male will present the female a bite of food. The presenting of the food looks like a kiss for those not in the know. Small mammals double check the adult they are greeting is their mom or dad by coming up real close to sniff which also looks like a kiss. The examples are almost endless and the only key to getting the shot is thinking biologically, reacting photographically and then laughing at the story your inside voice makes up!

There was no star light to speak of when I approached the blind. The ground fog that was blanketing the valleys blocked their view and the glow way off to the east suggested the fog extended for some distance. Got in our plywood box, our blind for the morning, I did my usual and just sat, watched and most importantly, listened. We’re perched on the top of a knoll, quite the opposite of the Greater Prairie Chicken lek of the days before (they are more a bowl shape). I saw just on the other side of the knoll a known shape and when it loped off to the south, I knew it was a coyote. I wondered if our morning shoot just went out the door. A few minutes later when the light levels had come up a tad, I heard a flap and a crash to my right and knew, the grouse were coming!

The Sharp-tailed Grouse share the same grass prairie habit as the prairie chickens but not the same leks. They do not share the same “dance” or sparring as the chickens. As my friend said, “they sound like jack hammers” as they stomp rapidly on the ground performing for a hopeful mate. They spin, do stare offs and on rare occasion are combative. One of the big challenges is there is more grasses on their leks so getting a clear shot can be frustrating. The entire lek freezes, on what que I do not know. Then they unfreeze, again on a que I cannot figure and when they unfreeze, they flare out their wings, stick their heads down, call and drum as they make circles in the dirt. Then, they freeze again only to start it all over again.

When a female appears, they go nuts doing all of this with more frenzy. And there you are with a lens, camera and finger itching to blast away to make the shot. You start shooting this biology before the sun even kisses the knoll. Then the light levels come up and with it the gorgeous light. This morning, with the rising light levels and temps, the ground fog slowly rose. Just as the fog started to float across the lek, the sun began to just kiss it. I was in frantic mode as I looked for a grouse who might dance in an open spot for my lens, kissed by this light with the mystery of the fog. Luck have it, one just did and the D6 went flying! I love Sharped-tailed Grouse more than chickens for so many reasons and after this morning, even more so. I simply can’t wait again cause I just love grousing about!