wildlife | kritterspix

Mountain Wildlife

Posted on October 12, 2018November 16, 2018 by kritterspaw

One of my favorite things about living up north in the mountains is the wildlife we get to see. I never saw wildlife in the big city. Here on the mountain we see a wide variety of species.

Like this elusive fox. I have seen fox on occasion, but have struggled to get a good shot. This one was no exception, taken in the dark with a high ISO, spotlighted with a flashlight. I had a hard time focusing in the dark, even with the flashlight… and today’s camera’s aren’t intended for manual focus.

We also saw this curious raccoon. He was searching for grub.

We watched him (her?) for quite awhile (albeit difficult in the dark)…. another animal we rarely see, particularly as they are nocturnal.

Incidentally, the fox came at the same time… but didn’t stick around. The fox seemed quite put off by the raccoon, and quickly circled the raccoon then made haste and left. Pity, I would have liked to have gotten a better shot.

Big Bull

Posted on September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 by kritterspaw

I keep hearing the elk bugle… a magical, majestic sound… but I had yet to see the big bull that bellowed. That is, until this morning. It was just after 5am… a little dark still, when he came in.

I think I may have been a little late to the party, as he didn’t stay long. He seemed merely to have come in to collect the last of his harem, and then he was off again.

To watch the grace and ease at which he slinked off into the forest was a beautiful thing. He was so quiet and confident in his graceful movements as he jumped over a ledge like it was a pebble and quietly disappeared. Awesome.

Pat’s Fawn

Posted on September 17, 2018September 17, 2018 by kritterspaw

My neighbor and friend, Pat, saw this little fawn when it was first born… maybe hours old. It was the tiniest thing… so we have been watching out for it, hoping it would survive the wild.

With a lot of support and love from its doting mom, it seems to be a happy, healthy little one.

Two Bucks

Posted on August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 by kritterspaw

You’ve heard of giving your two cents worth… well, here are my two bucks worth!

Sorry… just couldn’t help myself. Ha!

This one buck, we call ‘Slash’ had what looked like a deep cut, slash, ripped into his back. The other buck seemed to be lovingly watching over him. It checked out to the right… and to the left, before alerting Slash to proceed in that direction. Slash’s caretaker would rub along his healing cut, and nose him repeatedly. Maybe they are brothers.. or just good friends. We should all have such a great friend to help get us through our difficult times, particularly in the wild, where it can get quite ‘dicey’ with lots of predators out there!

The Ram Have it

Posted on June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 by kritterspaw

It’s not very often we see ram (otherwise known as mountain sheep). I think the last time we saw them was on Canyon Lake in Mesa. We have never seen them in Northern AZ. There was a time ww saw some in Utah, in Zion National Park….

But during our trip through Greer / Hannigan’s Meadow area… an area between 8500 – 9000 feet in elevation, we saw a whole herd (of 4).

I was ready at the camera to get some shots. They didn’t pay much attention to me when I told them they should go into the light, as they gravitated to the shade (who can blame them?), or look toward me… say cheese, er, grass?

Look, Snow

Posted on February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 by kritterspaw

pygmy up snow PS_IR.jpg

We finally got a little snow…. not much, but enough to have the animals hunker down and get out of the wind and snow. This little pygmy owl sat and gazed at the snow and watched it come in. Any time we see some of the more ‘exotic’ and rare animals, we are thrilled… and this pygmy owl was no exception.

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Leave room to Run

Posted on February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 by kritterspaw

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While I like the action in this photo, as this buck was spooked. It is not a great photo because it is too constrained. It is instead, a perfect example for what not to do. I have left no room for the buck to run. Since I cut off the action, the viewer is left to wonder what spooked him… or where he is going. It lacks that sense of place.

A better photo that shows a sense of place, and includes the subject (my buck) and his environment – the forest and trees. One where the subject is looking at you, and it’s eyes sharp are a bonus. Having the subject well lit, and not in the shadows help to draw the eye to your subject…. albeit often hard to get everything to line up, particularly when working in the wild.

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Happy Snow

Posted on January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 by kritterspaw

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While the East coast is getting hit with repeated snow storms, Arizona is getting left out of the action. Now I know most people don’t think of AZ as getting snow… but for Northern Arizona it is part of our seasons, and one we count on to get precipitation to keep our trees healthy and our forests free from wildfires. For a normal winter (October – March, or so) we would expect to see maybe 6′ – 10′ of snow. While that may not be a lot for some Eastern states, it’s about right for us. Thus far this winter, we have seen none.

That is until this past weekend. I’m happy to report we finally got some snow! Woohoo. We probably got about 8″ at our home. Having been house bound, we opted to go to the rim to check out their snow and maybe get some pix.

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The rim probably got around a foot of snow. It was beautiful.

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There is something special about new fallen fresh snow, clinging to the trees and their trunks. It is a magical sight. I never used to like snow – too cold. But I have developed an appreciation for it’s beauty.

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… and it always tends to bring out the animals. We were lucky to see a number of elk – all of whom where quite surprised to see our Jeep slogging through the deep snow.

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Working in the Blind

Posted on December 7, 2017January 17, 2018 by kritterspaw

It’s funny, when working in a blind, trying to get that elusive photo of animals in their natural environment, one notices everything…. the loud whir of your AutoFocus motor you never noticed before, the deafening shutter click that alerts the animals to your presence, and the bitter cold that bites through you at dusk when the animals come in.

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But, if one is lucky, the photos that might result make the discomfort all worth the while, particularly to be able to capture photos of animals from a ‘ground level’ perspective.

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Elklings

Posted on October 25, 2017 by kritterspaw

elk yearling _IR.jpg

First it was the deer, now the elk. We love the return of the animals. It has been so dry. No rain in the past or foreseeable future. The weather is unpredictably warm. Our plants and animals are confused beyond measure. Bees are swarming late… baby animals are appearing late… and wild birds, normally migrated, are looking for food.

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Winter must be near… but the weather gods aren’t cooperating. Maybe next week. In the meantime, the animals are trying to fill up on whatever food and water they can get their mouths on…. including having elk and deer in the same space.

We’ll enjoy what we get… when we get it.