I have pried some photos out of the hands of Stephen Barnard, especially since I saw one on his Facebook page featuring a gazillion mallards. Here they be (mallard photo last), with Stephen’s captions indented:
October is the time of year that elk (Cervus canadensis) gather on my place for the rut. It’s also the start of elk hunting season. I don’t allow hunting, although I have in the past. I’m more interested in observing them and taking photos. This leads to a certain amount of contention. The elk herd is often clearly visible from the highway, and elk hunting is a religion in Idaho — both for trophy bulls and cows for the freezer. I get frequent hunting requests from my neighbors and from strangers, sometimes with sob stories about being disabled, having only months to live, you name it. The only effective policy is NO EXCEPTIONS. [JAC: Bravo for Stephen!]
A small bull elk on a trot. The bulls compete for access to the cows. I hear them bugling, challenging one another, mostly in the mornings.
A cow elk and a doe mule deer checking me out. The doe had a yearling fawn (not shown).
This “trophy” bull elk is the king of the herd.
A Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). I saw this bird again today, but I didn’t have a camera. They tend to have favorite perches.
The herd, with the “king” on guard.
Lagniappe elk:
Large flocks of mallards are migrating through, mostly from Canada, I believe. There are always a handful of breeding residents in the creek, but now there are thousands. The northern-breeding birds are noticeably larger than the residents, and far more shy. I think a few are getting accustomed to me and the dogs, but the the most part they take flight at first sight.
It is nice to know land owners still have some rights. Many of those trophy antlers end up in the attic or the rafters of a storage building.
Your photos made my day, Stephen. Autumn is really here!
Indeed.
Never understood how “having only months to live” translated into ‘So, I’ve gotta kill something, and you need to help me.’
I was thinking the very same thing.
Interesting to note that the word “rut” means one thing when describing the behavior of animals such as elk and another when speaking of humans. When we’re in a rut, it ain’t the same thing.
The elk are magnificent. Love the owl. The flock of mallards is like a painting.
I’m not against all elk hunting in general, but one reason I don’t allow it on my place is that it’s too easy. Elk hunting should be an ordeal in the mountains, not a cakewalk in the agricultural bottom lands. A few years ago, when I did allow some hunting, someone (a close friend with severe Parkinson’s) who literally needed a walker, shot a cow. Another time someone (a stranger) who had “six months to live” showed up with a Navy Seal helper and a sniper rifle. He sighted on a cow, but a bull came over and started doing the cow. After they were done, some time passed before the cow stood up, and he shot her. That rubbed me the wrong way.
Speaking of ducks, their corkscrew penises were featured on John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” show yesterday. He also came down once again on pandas as useless.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photographs, and congratulations on your stand on shooting such beautiful creatures.
Your photos are always a great pleasure. That elk story is sad; that would rub me the wrong way too.
I’ve never hunted, nor had an interest in it since I was 12 and shot frogs with my BB gun. In the interview Michael linked to elsewhere Paul McCartney said he did the same thing. What an honor. 😎
A sanctuary from guns and obsessed people