Our timing is perfect for the fall color on magnificent Caddo Lake. It’s not so good for migrating fall waterfowl. Either we are early or they are late, in either case their not in our viewfinder where we want them. It’s not like we hurting for subjects, but there is just something about spending time with critters. Stepping into the void is our best friend, the Great Blue Heron. They are present on a view of the boat channels, the ones lest traveled by the faster bass boats cause they don’t like the wakes. Hard to see prey with wakes lapping at their legs. So easing up on them is key in getting a shot. Being “common” I am always looking for the uncommon. And while I have a gazzilion image of them, I still don’t have enough. Handholding the Z 9 / Z600f4 TC (shooting at 840mm) we eased up on this individual. I wanted to get the fall color reflection behind it but because of submerged logs, we couldn’t get the boat over to the left far enough. I watched the GBH as we floated towards it and it was this moment it saw another GBH fly into “its” water to forage. It raised its crest as a sign of displeasure and before too long, flew off to warn of the intruder. While not the most amazing photo of a GBH, it’s always fun to spend time with a wildlife photographer’s best friend!

The snow was steadily falling but not really building up. The temps weren’t cold as Montana goes but cold enough to create a layer of ice for the snow to fall upon. It was the first snow of winter and Yellowstone, more accurately its visitors, weren’t ready for the white stuff. Before long the roads of Yellowstone were being closed not so much because of a thick carpet of snow, but because of accidents and all that is required to pull a car off the side of a narrow, two lane road. And there I was outside of the park …

We had already had two amazing days in the park with wolves, Bison, the usual critters and super dramatic skies and light from the incoming storm. Everything was lining up for some killer photography and there I was “stuck” in my room. We were at the marvelous Park Hotel and its giant windows look into the northern entrance of the park. It’s a gorgeous view, when it’s not “forced.” I wanted to shoot really bad. Then this little band of five Mule Deer walked in front of our window (we were on the second floor). They were inside this sudo fenced area munching on the brown grasses. At first we just watched them and then I couldn’t handle it and grabbed the Z 8 with the Z400f4.5. If I got on the kitchen chair so I was standing at top of the big window, I could shoot over the fence. Yeah, I was shooting though the window but I found a clean, none scratched porthole. It was a challenge and at that point, it was welcomed. There was some great biology going on but much I couldn’t shoot because of the fence. But for an hour at least I wasn’t bouncing off the wall. I had the deer through the looking glass.

The Common Ravens in Yellowstone Nat’l Park are smarter than the average Raven. And they know it! For example, in the winter time they have learned how to unzip the cargo bags on snow sleds to get sleeders lunches out. They know which windows in snow coaches are open and how to fly in and grab food and get back out.  And there are those who don’t read the signs and feed them outright. Then there is me. What these ravens don’t know is that my beautiful bride had a pet raven, Edgar who taught me a few things, one being the raven chortle. This soft speak is what pairs use to commuicate. Though I have no clue what I’m saying, the raven are totally confused to hear it coming from a human. So while it was looking for a handout which wasn’t coming, I made the chortle causing it to cock its head. If you look in the lower photo, you can see me in the reflection of its eye. With the little bit of snow on its mandible and that great background far off in distance, all I could say was, work it baby, work it!

The day the calendar changed to October, life got a whole lot more charged for the Kodiak Brown Bears. October brings for most hibernation and that pressure puts the bears on a mission to eat everything they can to have the fat stores to see April. Females, either those that are pregnant or with cubs especially feel the extreme need to eat. That’s why you will never find me looking for Browns or Griz to photograph in October in Alaska. That feeding pressure they feel makes them do the unpredictable and that’s where folks get hurt. I will miss them during the winter, but I have a few images and stories to entertain me until I’m with them again next year. They are a brilliant critter and I wish them sweet dreams. It’s night nighttime.