Herd Bull "Chaos" Rutting by Smith Creek

It's pretty late but the herd bull "Chaos" was rutting this morning. You can see the sod tossed to the right, and grass on his antlers. His herd was down by Smith Creek this morning and had roughly doubled to about 50 animals overnight.

Late Rutting Bull by Smith Creek

Grazing by 43/21 Intersection -- Compos With 2 Elk

Compositions with 2 elk can be hard to get to look right. One strategy is to overlap the elk to kind of convert the picture to "2 gets you 1 subject". In this case, the biggest elk, Box is in the foreground, the smaller behind is behind him mostly, and mostly in the shadows.

Morning light cutting across the bodies of these animals animates their contours. I cropped this to a vertical 12x8 so that the tree would participate in the compo more effectively -- it reinforces the lines. It is pushed back, so the traditional rule concerned about it growing out of the elk has no meaning. In fact, in this case, it seems to point the elk. If I had cropped to 10x8, I don't think it would be as effective.

Make 2 Elk into 1 Subject by Association

Bull Elk Herd by 43/21

Bull elk herd at 43/21 field. I chose this image because "Box" was looking at the other elk with the shag grazing. The eye contact between animals that happens now and then matters a lot. Viewers read human emotion into these moments. In the background you can see the mill pond lit up by blue light from the sky.

I had the place to myself. When I left about 9:30 the bulls were still in about this position. To get this compo, I stayed south of the herd so that my shooting angle took in the mill pond. I could have got a lot closer, but then the background would have been a farm field.

All-bull Post Rut Herd by 43/21

Winter Bull Elk Pictures -- Post Rut Bull "Box" at 43/21 Intersection

"Box" is not my favorite bull, he is a second tier bull with square looking antlers. This morning he and 2 buddies were real close to the fence just north of the 43/21 intersection. This picture took me 35 minutes and a tiny fraction of a second. 

I spent some time lining Box up in front of the tree in the background, then spent more time waiting for him to pick up his head. Patience is a big deal if you want to get the best poses. This is a "field shot", but it is at an angle to grab an interesting background. If you want to take better pictures, don't neglect to pose the background. It places the animal in context and is more interesting visually. 

35 Minutes and 1/500th of a Second

12/1/13 Ponca Rutting Bull Elk

Bugling herd bull still in rut near Ponca Access. This morning he bugled like it was October.

Bugling Bull 12/1 at Ponca Access

Morning Sparring By Mill Pond

Morning sparring just north of the Mill Pond. This is the medium sized all bull herd that has formed recently. This behavior will continue until the antler drop at the end of March 2014.

Morning Sparring Medium-Sized Bulls. 

Godzilla and Harem 11/19/13

The big bull elk was in a front field this morning. I crept up on him at some distance, but he saw me anyway. He walked toward me on an upslope and picked his head up some.  This big bull is visible now just south of the 43/21 intersection, at least he was today.

Generally I will not center a subject, but in this case I think it works because it shows a "day in the life of elk". Godzilla is locked on to me as a threat, some cows are walking away, a couple are looking on. Crossing morning light makes this appealing to me.  Even though it is mid-November, Godzilla is still bugling and showing rutting bull behavior.

Herd Bull Godzilla Protecting His Harem

11/19/13 Elk Herd Locations & Report

The biggest bull herd in the valley showed up this morning, and there were no other herds. It is headed by Godzilla. Some of the past herd bulls are now satellites, and they seem headed to create an all-bull herd. There was pretty good bugling for November.

Whitetail deer are still running everywhere. If you visit, be alert for them.

11/13/13 Elk Herd Locations & Report

A pretty good morning today for elk watching and photography. With the colder weather there were few photographers and watchers.  The best shooting and viewing was early when the elk were closer to the fence.  JYD put on a pretty good show romping around close to the fence.

Good landscape weather too. Water-based compositions now have morning fog as an element. There are still plenty of colored leaves as well.

Looking Back

Today was an off day for me so I dig around old photos and see if there are any I have missed, or never did anything with.  The photo below is from November 5 a couple of years ago -- proof that great photos are still possible, really for months to come.

This is a river crossing with JYD, a bull still with us and very active in the 2013 rut. Here he is at the end of a river crossing. He is drinking getting ready to bed down. I will never forget this crossing. It included nearly a hundred elk and 3 different herd bulls over a 45 minute period.  You can see the buffalo is a trickle in the bottom of the picture.  The satellite bull is wary of JYD, the 3 cow elk seem to be admiring JYD.  I love the light in this picture.

Taken November 5, 2010

November 2013 Outlook

The weather forecast in early November is a return to seasonably cool days and pretty cold nights. Steaming breath bugles like the one below are possible in this weather.  As I write this we are at peak fall color so visiting photographers will have plenty of subjects to shoot. 

We are still in the 2013 elk rut slowly heading down the slope to the holidays. There will still be bulging for some time and bull fights are possible until mid-month, though they become less likely as the month progresses. 

I have said this many times. A huge percentage of my best bull elk shots are from now until March. There will be bulls "running" herds until the end of December. 

As the rut winds down, all-cow and all-bull herds are formed.  These herds mix with the herds that are still in the rut pattern, but finally there are only gender based herds. 

"Steam This" -- One of my Favorite Pictures

The all-bull herds are generally organized by the size of the bulls.  There are 3 sizes as a rule, the biggest bulls, the second tier bulls, and the little bulls. There is a little mixing but this breakdown holds. They still spar from time to time and these are good pictures.  Don't dismiss this opportunity.

Medium Sized Bull Herd January 2012

Below is a picture I got of the Boxley Stud on November 13 last year.  One fine bull. I did not get a decent picture of him last year until late season.

The Boxley Stud November 2012 by Moore Creek

We are now entering prime time for elk photography. Some imagine that the best is behind, but the best is ahead. If you like big bulls this is the best time of the year to get the wall hangers.

Main Herd Bull in the Ponca Fields

This is one nice herd bull.  He is a 7x6. I have shot him for a few years now. He has characteristic tiny forks right at the end of his antlers. I caught him in a fight once. This morning he took the harem of a larger bull with a broken antler. Note the size of his body, that is a key trait of a herd bull -- body mass.

Sunrise Bulls by Old Steam Mill

Taken this morning as the sun was rising in the field just south of the 43/21 intersection. These are second tier bulls in a bachelor bull herd. Ordinarily this is way too early for these herds.  There were 5 or 6 of these bulls and they ended up in the 43/21 field.

Injured Bull Reported in South Valley

Tonight there were at least 200 cars in Boxley Valley. Ponca fields were the best but there was some action in the south end by the river.

I received reliable reports of an injured bull. This bull is limping and might not move off the road easily. Be on the outlook for him.

Hooks at Last Light 10/9/13

Made the evening shift tonight in Boxley Valley.  While everyone else was waiting by Ponca for the evening show (and it happened), I was alone waiting for Hooks who I felt certain had bedded down near his morning feeding area.  My patience was rewarded, and I got a nice shoot in evening light. This is one of my favorite images.

Hooks at Last Light

9/29/13 Elk Herd Location Map -- Rain Hurts Morning Viewing

Elk viewing this morning was surprisingly poor.  Rain seems to work one way or the other with elk and apparently last night there were some thunderstorms.  These storms push elk back in the woods a bit in most cases. My guess is that viewing will return to normal this evening or tomorrow morning.

The only visible elk this morning were down by Cave Mountain Road in the south end. They were gone by just after 8 am.

9/28/13 Introducing "Pretty Boy", 6x6 Bull in the 2013 Elk Rut

This morning Pretty Box, a 6x6 bull elk put on a a pretty good show in the fields down by the Ponca Access. He has had better days, he started the day as a herd bull, and now I am pretty sure he has been relegated to a satellite bull.  He had been running cows for about 2 weeks. No matter, if the past is any indication, Pretty Boy will be one of the late season herd bulls.  I have been observing and filming Pretty Boy for 3 years or so.  He has great symmetry and is a handsome bull elk. 

One of the interesting things about the elk rut is that there are so many intertwined cycles.  In the early rut, smaller bulls run the herds until the big bulls arrive. Late in the rut, these same small bulls often return to herd bull standing after or late in the second estrous as the big bulls wander off.  Bulls like Pretty Boy are not quite big enough yet to compete with the big guys. 

The next couple of days will tell us Pretty Boy's status. I am pretty sure he is no longer a herd bull, but only time will tell. 

Pretty Boy Posing

Pretty Boy Attempting to Control His Harem

9/17/13 Picture of the Day -- JYD "Runs" His Harem

This is the great bull JYD, a great 7x7 that lately has been down by Cave Mountain Road.  This picture is of him mid-stride "running" his cows.  What he was doing was steering them to the trail to return to the daytime bedding areas.

This steering behavior is also used to protect and compact his harem if he perceives a threat.  In a couple of weeks when you see this, it could mean a bull fight is possible, especially if you hear another bull bugling and being answered by the herd bull.  Remember this pattern.

Junk Yard Dog Running His Harem

Big Bull Near Ponca Access

Today had the makings of a disappointment. I waited for a river crossing and no elk showed up.  Got some decent pictures of a river lizard, but not much.

Walked back to my car and drove up the valley to the Ponca Access. I go there habitually to check for otter, but there were none. Driving up I noticed 2 elk that appeared to be heading to the river to drink.  I decided to wait for them.

While I waited a half hour, I heard a big elk bugle. He was not visible, but my hunch was he was heading to the river to drink after grazing. He did pop out and I got him at 10:15 AM. This late picture is real unusual especially for a bull in 90 degree weather.

Here is the takeaway point.  I didn't quit at 9AM. I kept grinding. Paying attention to the movement of 2 small elk, and my patience, let me get a picture of a big elk. Yes there was luck in this, but there was also experience, observation, playing the percentages, and most of all just patience.

While I was waiting for the bull, elk watchers came and went seeking immediate gratification.  If they had waited, they would have seen a nice bull in the river. Patience would have made the difference.

Herd Bull at the Ponca Access, 2013 Elk Rut

7x7, Junk Yard Dog 2013

This is JYD, Junk Yard Dog for 2013.  He is the bull I saw this morning showing rut behavior.  This year he is a 7x7 and very early to the rut. If past experience means anything, he will still be in the rut at the end of the season. 

This year he definitely has "game". Big body, and a nice rack. Note that his nutmeg brown rack was scraped of velvet a while back. He has been early all around, other bulls still have some velvet. 

The first fights are just a couple of weeks off.  Countdown to the rut continues, will you be ready?  If you want to photograph this big guy, get to the valley early, around 7AM.  Today at least, he was down by Smith Creek at the south end of Boxley Valley. 

JYD, Junk Yard Dog  7x7 Curly Eye Guard on His Left