mammal Archives - Teton Photography Club

June 26, 2020

Teton Tots — The Babies of Spring

Spring is the season for babies here in Jackson Hole!

This year, I have been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time for many of them. The babies come in all sizes and shapes: from Grizzly cubs to some of the smallest furry critters, and fuzzy feathered tots to Bison’s red dogs. This page contains a cross section of this year’s youngsters.

Grizzly Sow 399 reappeared with cubs on opening day of this year’s COVID-19 truncated season.

399 is now 24 years old! She has had triplets before, but never quads. As you might expect, the large family has been a popular attraction. Another Grizzly sow, “Blondie” appeared this year with one cub.

Some of the babies, like these young Raccoons, are just “too cute” for words.

As with any of the babies, they grow rapidly.

Some of the first “Red Dogs” can be first seen in May in Jackson Hole. I usually hear of a few born earlier in Yellowstone, but by June baby bison are fairly common.

By mid-June, some of their red fur starts turning dark brown. It not uncommon to see late season babies.

Most Bison cows have only one baby, but I believe I have seen twins a few times.

Little Canada Geese start appearing around the 1st of June. By the time the last set of goslings are born, some of the earliest babies will be quite large.

I usually see the goslings at the park on the north side of the Visitor’s Center on North Cache.

A gaggle of newborn geese can range in numbers from a couple to a dozen or more.

It’s hard to beat a behavioral shot of a mother and her babies!

Fawns from both Elk and Mule Deer around here are harder to find than you might think. They are usually born deeper in the forests and not always near people.

This mother Barrow’s Golden Eye had 17 babies! They were already diving for food on the bottom of the pond as Schwabacher Landing.

This little Long-billed Curlew was walking alongside the gravel road north of Kelly one morning. Right now, its beak is still fairly short.

By the time they are adults, the beak will have grown considerably to match their namesake.

Red Foxes can snow up in the southern part of the valley in mid-May or even sooner. In the northern portion of the Park, they can still be tiny in early June. This female was shedding her winter fur at the time I took this photo.

Foxes find relative safety near houses and businesses. Coyotes and Badgers are know to kill them, but tend to stay away from humans.

These two siblings were part of a litter of four. They spent a lot of time playing with each other, but were quick to retreat to safe holes at any sign of danger.

As the babies grow older, they become a bit more independent and stay out more. This litter was seen on the “West Bank” of the Snake River.

I watched this little Fox practice with the dead mouse or ground squirrel.

Owls are always sought after subjects, whether they have babies or not. The babies are inquisitive and always fun to photograph, if you can find them!

As the babies mature, they begin to “branch” and later fly from tree to tree.

Baby Owls can be quite animated. I had my best luck with these late in the day.

Of the larger prey animals, Pronghorns are some of the last to give birth. I photographed this newborn on June 18th.

It doesn’t take long for the fawns to be able to run and keep up with it’s mother.

Moose are some of my favorite subjects. The cows usually have their babies in secluded, dark areas. It can take a while for the mothers to move them into the open.

Jackson Hole has a reputation for cows with twins. Biologists are not sure if this is genetic or just a byproduct of good habitat.

The calves nurse for quite a while, but quickly learn to strip willows.

Baby Moose grow fast. Most are born in the last week of May or the first week of June. By late June, they are stout, yet agile.

While most Grizzlies are seen in the northern portion of the valley, Black Bears range almost all areas. This family was photographed along Jackson Lake. They are known to roam the east side of the Tetons and even on Snow King Mountain here in town.

This group of five baby Uinta Ground Squirrels popped out of a hole at the Mormon Row barns. They are common in almost all zones and are a popular food source for Coyotes, Badgers, Weasels, Foxes, Owls, Hawks and Eagles.

By the time some of the babies, like this Yellow-bellied Marmot appears, they look a lot like miniature versions of the adults.

You have to be paying attention, you might notice an adult bird bringing food to its babies in a cavity nest. The babies are in the nest, but will not be visible for a while. Sapsucker, Flicker, and other Woodpecker babies will often have their heads out the hole waiting and begging for food.

All of the photos on this page were taken in 2020. In previous years, I’ve photographed baby Great Gray Owls, newborn Moose, young Badgers, and so forth. I’d love to find baby Snowshoe Hares, baby Hummingbirds, baby Weasels, and baby Hawks. Maybe next year!

I am accepting photo tours for the summer and fall…with modifications!

Normally, I drive my tour clients around in my vehicle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve opted to offer tours by letting clients follow me in their vehicles. This allows for ample social distancing. I purchased several pairs of walkie-talkies to allow me to communicate while driving when cell service is ineffective. Masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes will be provided. If you have questions, please ask!

The goal is to keep both of us safe, yet cover most of the same areas of the park.

Photo tours help me pay bills and continue to add content to this site. Keep me in mind if you are going to be in the valley! My tours are licensed by the National Park Service and National Elk Refuge.

I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.

Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole.

The post Teton Tots — The Babies of Spring first appeared on Best of the Tetons, Area Info & Photography.

January 25, 2020

“A Few Good Goats”

One of the slogans for the US Marine Corp recruiters is “We’re looking for a few good men.” When I drive down the Snake River Canyon in the Winter, I am looking for a “Few Good Goats”. Heck, for me, one good goat will work!

But…finding a goat isn’t that easy! They are white and the snow is white. Mountain Goats can be hidden behind piles of snow or in dense thickets of brush. Or, they simply be very high on the mountain and out of sight. Sounds next to impossible, right? Well, some days they can be found standing in the middle of the highway licking salt off the roads. I spent about an hour driving up and down the last four or five miles of the Snake River Canyon and was about ready to head on back home, when I caught a glimpse of two off-white furry objects in the bushes. I could have easily missed them, especially knowing you must keep zipping along on the highway. Truckers are not too forgiving of someone putzing along at 25mph. Same for the Highway Patrol.

Once I parked in an official pull-out, I hiked back to the nanny and kid. They were tucked behind some low shrubs or trees. I took quite a few photos of them in the trees, mainly because I never know initially if that is all I will get that day. It worked out in my favor by waiting them out. A few people stopped, took a few photos and then continued on their way, but I was there specifically to photograph Mountain Goats.

Of the 40 images I processed, many were “similars”. In other words, they are the same basic pose but looking in different directions.

With a zoom lens, it is possible to take a variety of images at different zoom ranges. This one is more of an “environmental” shot…a small animal in a larger landscape.

I moved around a bit when they were perched on this little ledge, and I tried numerous compositions. I put them in the upper left in this one, showing the cliff below.

In this shot, I placed the subject in the lower left, showing some of the distant cliffs behind them. And, I shot a lot of horizontal orientation shots, zoomed in even tighter. Most of the first shots were culls, with the youngster looking down or only partially visible.

This capture shows the Nanny feeding on the twigs.

Same spot…but only looking around.

Other than issue of me standing out in the cold for an hour and a half, I got “lucky” to be able to eventually get the pair in the open and without too much clutter behind them.

Same location…just a different “take” on the scene.

Again, the zoom lens gives me some additional options versus with only a 600mm lens.

A vertical shot like this one might be just the ticket for a magazine cover in which they need space for their banner info at the top and additional text and graphics at the bottom. It only takes spinning the camera in the lens’ collar.

The “post process crop” can change the appearance of a shot, too.

This is the same shot, just cropped differently.

I posted this shot on Instagram. The site was originally set up to prefer square images, so I typically crop to a square for them. I liked the subtle “action” and behavior in this one.

In my relatively short period of time with the Nanny and Kid, I managed to get quite a few different “scenes”. In other words, Mother Nature paid off for me today after numerous other trips that were less than stellar.

For some reason, I never cared for most of my shots of a young Mountain Goat by itself. With their short legs, I guess they just look like a ball of fur. This kind of shot gives them some scale when compared to its mother. By this time of the year, the kids are fairly independent and roam around quite a bit on their own, but will usually be within a reasonable distance of the nanny.

At least in this shot, I got to see one leg!

The Mountain Goats had already eaten most of the lower leaves on this tree. The nanny is having to reach high for them now. She returned to this tree several times while I was there.

The weather report called for cloudy skies during the morning, then a 50% chance of snow after lunch. Over roughly 10 years of photographing them, the “pattern” is they don’t come down if it is snowing in the morning. However, if the come down initially, and then it starts snowing, they don’t immediately head back up the mountain. While driving down, I was first hoping just to find a few Mountain Goats, but then hoped to photograph them in the falling snow. In other words, a two-for-one trip! As I took this photo, a few fine flakes were falling, but when it was snowing heavier, they had moved behind a fairly dense thicket. I couldn’t find a workable angle, so I decided to head on home.

All in all, I photographed the pair for about an hour and a half, taking around 2500 photos. When I returned home, I picked out around 40 of them to process in Lightroom. There are probably another dozen unique shots when I go through them more closely. This page contains a fairly nice cross section of the ones I processed. I carried my Nikon D5 and Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens for these images—all shot handheld with the image stabilization turned on. I’ve shot in the Canyon with a tripod on many occasions, but there isn’t a lot of room for them along the highway now. Additionally, the snow banks behind the guard rails are deep and soft.

For what it’s worth:

I typically don’t see a lot of Mountain Goats in January. One some years, I’ve had good luck in February, while last year they didn’t come down much at all. They can be seen in some years in late November and parts of December, and usually again in March when avalanches clear a path for them. If you go through the Canyon watch for them in the last four miles before it opens up at Alpine Junction. My odds seem to be one in five for getting a reasonably good shoot. On other days, I might see a few up too high for decent shots. And, I typically get skunked on two or three of the five days. I heard two were reasonably close to the road yesterday, so I took the gamble. There are roughly 150 Mountain Goats in that area. Some of them have been migrating north to Grand Teton National Park. The Park Service has instituted a plan to shoot them from helicopters once they enter the National Park. You can read about it in this official document and you can comment on it to GTNP. 20-01 Central Teton Range Temp Closure for Nonnative Mountain Goat Management

Mountain Goats of the Snake River Canyon: This 2014 Feature Post has a lot more information and maps

You can also see photos of Mountain Goats scattered throughout the December, February and March Daily Journals over the past five years.

I have numerous tour openings available in January, February & March

The photo tours help me pay bills and continue to add content to this site. Keep me in mind if you are going to be in the valley! My tours are licensed by the National Park Service and National Elk Refuge.

I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.

Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole.

October 26, 2019

Shoshone – 2019!

My (current) Favorite Bull Moose

When I can find Shoshone, none of the other bulls matter! He’s big, mature, and beautiful!

First You Have to Find Him!

Legendary Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra, is credited with hundreds of quotes…. Some people call them Yogi Berraisms. Here are just a few:

“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
“The future ain’t what it used to be.”

When it comes to my favorite GTNP moose, Shoshone, Yogi’s sayings come to mind. I can create one he might have said: “If he ain’t where you are looking, look somewhere else.”

Over the span of around 14 years of photographing Grand Teton National Park’s moose, I’ve witnessed bulls gathering in small groups, both before the rut and after the rut. I’ve overheard tour guides telling their clients that moose live a solitary lifestyle, but across the board, that is not my observation.

While still in velvet and biding their time, I’ve often seen groups of four, five, and six bulls together. After the rut, I’ve seen as many as 28 bulls clustered in an area of the sage flats no bigger than a football field. That count didn’t include the cows and anterless bulls mixed in with them!

When not courting a cow during the September rut, Shoshone seems to prefer the isolation. For a photographer, Shoshone creates a conundrum. Should I bushwhack across a couple of miles of river bottom looking for him, or go to areas where there might be four or five moose in a more reliable area?

The risks and rewards of searching have to be balanced against each other. IF I find him, I will likely have him to myself for hours. As a result, my shots will likely be unique. Conversely, you might also imagine how it feels to “waste” a morning looking for him, only to find out later that three or four of the other bulls were putting on a great show somewhere else.

My Favorites

Shoshone is my “current” favorite Moose. I’ve had other favorites, including Gaston, Washakie, Elvis, and Custer. Unfortunately, their time at the top of the hierarchy pyramid is short. They either grow too old to compete, are killed by vehicle, or meet their end by a pack of wolves or even a hunter’s bullet. (More on Washakie and Gaston later)

Any follower at Best of the Tetons probably already knows that moose are my favorite wildlife subject. There are several reasons, of course. First, they can be found relatively close to my home. They save gas! Second, unlike the bears, there are a lot of them and are generally visible all year. Lastly, they “do stuff”. They cross rivers, fight, spar, and generally interact with each other.

Heck…they are even interesting when they are bedded down!

Our Shiras Moose are smaller versions of the Alaskan Moose—inhabiting areas of the Northern Rockies. They are “in scale” with other wildlife in the area. Growing up in a National Park, they are not hunted and effectively become accustomed to sharing their environment with the hoards of tourists visiting the Park each year.

“What is the lifespan of a moose?” I’ve looked over numerous sites for the answer. Depending on the site, the average response is around 15 years, though I saw a couple suggesting as long as 25 years. I doubt that! Some also suggest the average lifespan in the wild is only 8 years. Likewise, I doubt that number. Based on my years of following them, I’d stay with 15 years in the wild.

Velvet Time

Most moose lose their antlers sometime in mid to late December, while a few lose them in January. By Spring, you’ll start seeing light bulb sized new growth on the shaggy monsters. In late July and early August, I begin to see enough velvet covered antler growth to begin to speculate “who” they are. By late August, the mystery is over. Each year, they grow their antlers back in almost the exact pattern as the previous year. They’ll often add an extra a point or two as they reach their prime.

Besides the antler pattern, some moose have cuts or splits in their ears, or noticeable scars on their shoulders or muzzle. A few of them, like Shoshone have “lazy” ears. When not needed, the lazy ear rests back on their neck. (See the previous photo) Shoshone can still bring both ears perk when he hears a threat.

Despite their gangly appearance, Moose are quite nimble, even in thick cover. While still in velvet, they are very careful not to cut their soft velvet supplying the calcium needed to grow their antlers.

Prior to stripping their velvet, bulls have little interest in the cows. That’s not always the case for the cows. The down ears indicate “approach with caution”. Cows often find one of the big bulls and hang close, but other than their company, bulls seem to prefer their pre-rut private time.

Stripping Time

Last year, I was lucky to witness and photograph Shoshone stripping his velvet. This year, I missed the big event my maybe an hour. When I found him, he had only a small patch of velvet clinging to one paddle.

Moose paddles remain red for a few days as they continue to scrape them against any small tree or appropriate branch they can find. Later, they thrash the trees to attract the cows or alert another male of their presence.

The Rut

Once their antlers are stripped and polished, moose enter the rut in earnest. “Dependable” bulls seem to disappear for a week or two. I’ve equated it with a high school kid getting a new set of chrome wheels for his Camaro and then cruising Main Street to show them off. (Okay, I know I am showing my age. Watch American Grafitti if you are not sure what I am talking about)

View this post on Instagram

A tongue in cheek Moose experience in Jackson Hole

A post shared by Best Of The Tetons (@bestofthetetons) on Sep 15, 2019 at 8:33pm PDT

If you haven’t been following me on Instagram, you might consider it! A friend talked me into posting a video once in a while that shows a bit about how I get these photos. This link is just one example.

Shoshone spent most of his velvet time along the Gros Ventre River, but afterwards I heard of him being seen along the Moose-Wilson Road and near Moose Junction. I saw him briefly at Blacktail Ponds overlook one evening, then heard numerous reports of him being at Schwabacher Landing. Later, he was back at the Gros Ventre River.

During the rut, large bulls isolate a cow and stay with her until she comes “into season”. They move from cow to cow as the season progresses. They can find a cow miles away, even with the wind blowing the wrong direction! In most cases, the secret to finding a bull during the rut is to go to where the cows hang out.

In my years of observing and photographing moose, I’ve only seen one serious fight. This year, I received reports of Shoshone and Laramie squaring off. I was told Laramie won the battle. (I was doing a photo tour that day)

Late Season Rut

Late October brings two changes. First, the primary summer food source, willow leaves, along the river bottoms thin out or fall off. They move to the sagebrush zones to feed on bitter brush mixed in with the sagebrush. Second, the moose reassemble in even larger numbers than before. Bulls sniff the cow’s urine for a chance of a late season breeding opportunity, but otherwise, become much less aggressive towards each other. Sparring between bulls is almost a given.

Shoshone and Firecracker are often seen paired up for gentle sparring.

Instead of moving back to the trees for the daytime shade, moose will often plop down in the middle of the sagebrush during the cooler days of late fall or early winter.

Water

Besides a good food source, moose also need a water source. They typically go to water at least once a day. Depending on whether some of the old irrigation ditches are open or not, moose in the sagebrush will eventually go to a stream or river. If a cow crosses the river with a bull nearby, you can almost bank on him following her. Otherwise, they move to the edge of the water for a quick drink, then return to the willows or sagebrush zones.

A Little Back Story

While this post is about Shoshone, you might enjoy a little localized history. Two bulls come immediately to mind…

Washakie

One of my earlier “favorite” bull moose was Washakie.

I started photographing Washakie in 2006 and continued to do so until the fall of 2016. His distinctive brow tines set him apart from all others. He hasn’t been seen since 2016.

Gaston

Back in 2006, I photographed and named “Gaston”—the largest bull in the area. At the time, my kids were watching Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. The Beast’s name was Gaston, so it seemed fitting. Gaston was the top bull back then, mating with the cows along the river. The odds are very good that I photographed Shoshone, Bannock, Laramie, and Slim Jim when they were babies. If you compare photos of Shoshone and Washakie against this 13 year old photo of Gaston, I can at least speculate that some of today’s top bulls are offspring of Gaston. Compare Gaston above with Shoshone below!

Shoshone: 2019

Shooting Information

All of the images on this page were taken in 2019. Most of them were taken with a Nikon D5. It’s my “go to” body for early morning and late evening wildlife photography. Many were taken with a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. Not long ago, I added a Sigma 60-600mm lens and used it with both the Nikon D5 an also my Nikon D850. River crossings are also a good time for the D5, knowing can handle a couple hundred captures before hitting the buffer. The D850 hits the buffer at around 14 photos (I’d have to refer to the manuals for exact numbers). The bulk of the moose images were taken using a tripod.

I didn’t keep track of the numbers, but I am sure I took 15,000 photos of Shoshone so far this year. I cull the number considerably, often by 90%, but that still leaves me with 1,500 keepers! I was only able to include part of them, and I know I will get a lot more between now and when he sheds his antlers in December.

Even though I mentioned that “all” images on this page are from 2019, I’ll sneak in one more from late October of last year. It’s a preview of what I hope to see in November and December.

More Moose Images:

Here’s a list of additional Feature Posts on Best of the Tetons with moose, and even a link to my artistic images as Teton Images.

I have numerous openings available in November and December!

The tours help me pay bills and allow me to keep updating this site. Please refer me when you can…MJ

I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.

Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole

September 11, 2018September 22, 2018

American Bison in Grand Teton National Park

American Bison are often the most dependable photographic subject in Grand Teton National Park—roaming the open sage flats and grasslands in the Jackson Hole valley. Unlike Elk, Deer, and Moose that usually duck back into the forests just after sunrise, Bison and Pronghorns remain visible throughout the day. Of course, that doesn’t mean they are always close to the roads. It is also worth noting that Bison are seldom in the same area one day to the next, typical of a grazing prairie mammals.

Bison bulls can weigh up to a ton! Females can weigh in at about half that, or up to 1.100 pounds. I read some documents suggesting they can run 40 miles per hour and can jump six feet in height, making them one of the most dangerous animals in the Park. Tourists are often seen behind the “safety” of the short fences along the highway at Elk Ranch Flats, but they can easily jump any fence I know of in GTNP. If they don’t feel like jumping a fence, they just go through it! Continue reading