Moose, Moose, Moose (20140922) A solo run looking for Mr. Big.

With the realization that Mr. Big was holding court in the bog, I decided to see if I could get a couple of shots of him in better light. I had been lamenting that this year had been lacking moose of any significant numbers. This month has restored my confidence that there are still a lot of moose out there. This first shot is another of the pair that I ended last post with.

This large cow allow me to peacefully pass as she was enjoying her breakfast.

Jamie loves the moose in water shots so I had to throw this image in just for him.

I next spotted a single cow making her way uphill and this pair of cows stopping for a drink before "retiring" for the morning.

So I arrived at the "pit" at 8:04 a.m. and wasn't disappointed. The big guy was just hanging out while 4 other cows were busy feeding.

I spent about 30 minutes with the group waiting for the light to improve. Unfortunately, these big ungulates are positioned on the South side of the road so the light never really gets great.

 The local word is out about the "king and his court" so the paparazzi continued to flow into the area. I thought I would take a little drive as I had heard about another bull that might be available for shots not too far away.  I had no luck finding the other bull so after about an hour I returned to see what was happening in the pit. There were now 5 cows in the area, and every now and then one would leave to the east and one would come in from the west. Here is a brief video of the big guy checking in on a "new arrival" to the pit. Video from Turbos Youtube channel. In the mean time the ladies were just hanging out like they were at the spa. Every now and then there might be a little interaction, but for the most part they were very well behaved.

So with a couple of final shots I left him to do his work. It can be a tough life, but there are times when things are just GREAT!.

I will finish this post with a final cow shot. I had parked the truck and got out to take a couple of shots. She just kept approaching until finally I grabbed my other camera with a shorter lens on it and took this image at 50mm. 

She had approached so close that I decided to back away when I left, so as to not disturb her drinking. I later spotted two separate Spruce roosters but no images were taken. I had to change a tire, due to a flat, then was on my way home. A terrific day to spend a Monday!

Turbo