How to flush a snowy owl ...

[Jonathan Huyer]

I just wanted to reactivate this thread to provide a link to snowy owl photos by John Marriott. He is Canada's premier wildlife photographer, and he operates with a very high code of ethics. He went to Boundary Bay and came home with a very fine collection of shots. I found them on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-...y/282853571777
John's philosophy is to never disturb the wildlife he is shooting, no matter what. His results are proof that with patience (and big glass), you can get great results without having a negative impact.

[nvitalephotography]

now thats how its done...He has some incredible shots of those owls

[ddt0725]

Wow, that is some amazing photography, Jonathan! Thanks for sharing! I wouldn't want to see that many snowy owl's at once though ...my sheer, uncontrollable excitement would no doubt disturb them!!

[Steve U]

Great shots Johnathan, thanks for the link.

[nvitalephotography]

Took a trip to the smoky mountains over the weekend and saw tons of people doing things that reminded me of this thread. Nobody seems to understand the fact that wildlife is in fact Wild.

I took this picture of these two guys. They were not more than 10ft from this deer, and considering it is the beginning of rut and they are on both sides of the deer (there was a third person approaching from behind the deer) its amazing that the deer didn't attack them. Plus people like this ruin the photo opportunities for everyone who does have respect for the animals and stays at a safe distance.



Later in the day there was a group watching a young bear just off the road, the park rangers were telling people to stay back. It was amazing how many people I overheard saying that if it wasn't for the rangers being there they would be walking right up to the bear to get photos. Why do people want pictures that bad? if you want a good picture of the bear get one from a professional photographer who has the correct gear for the job, why risk getting injured (which results in the animal being euthanized)and disturbing the wildlife for a crappy picture with your cell phone?

I love our parks and love how many people go to them to enjoy nature but I found myself constantly annoyed with the lack of respect people have for nature.

thanks for reading my rant.

[HDNitehawk]

Nick, you have to admit he was close enough that his picture wasn't foggy

I posted this one earlier; it is the wildlife at Yellowstone. I guess if you only have a PS you have to get your shot somehow;

Yellowstone 2012 (1 of 1)-2 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

[dsiegel5151]

Nick, you have to admit he was close enough that his picture wasn't foggy

I posted this one earlier; it is the wildlife at Yellowstone. I guess if you only have a PS you have to get your shot somehow;

Yellowstone 2012 (1 of 1)-2 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

This is one of the worst parts about going to popular sight-seeing spots. I remember one time driving through Alton (IL) and stopping on the road adjacent to the cliffs that line the Mississippi River. This is a pretty popular midwest eagle spot during the winter if you haven't been there. I got out of my car and was watching some Turkey Vultures circling through my binoculars. Within 5 minutes ten cars were pulled over. Mothers and fathers were pointing out the eagles to their kids, iPhones and P&S cameras were firing, etc, etc, etc...I didn't have the heart to tell all those people that they were not watching and photographing eagles.

[HDNitehawk]

The easiest way to find wildlife at Yellowstone is to look for the traffic jamb.

[ahab1372]

This is one of the worst parts about going to popular sight-seeing spots. I remember one time driving through Alton (IL) and stopping on the road adjacent to the cliffs that line the Mississippi River. This is a pretty popular midwest eagle spot during the winter if you haven't been there. I got out of my car and was watching some Turkey Vultures circling through my binoculars. Within 5 minutes ten cars were pulled over. Mothers and fathers were pointing out the eagles to their kids, iPhones and P&S cameras were firing, etc, etc, etc...I didn't have the heart to tell all those people that they were not watching and photographing eagles.

Something like " No kids, they are vultures, they are looking for dead bunnies and other animals that did not make it in he cold, and they will eat them."

Have there ever been reports about people being injured by deer in Yellowstone or other popular places? I know it has happened in many places, but according to the pictures posted here they seem to be very tolerant

[HDNitehawk]

Deer, you see far fewer deer in Yellowstone than Elk or Buffalo and it happens.
The Elk are probably even more dangerous at the big parks, because in the wild they would run away and never get that close to you.

Three years ago when applying for a back country permit they had a picture in the Rangers office of a grandma being hurled in the air by a buffalo she got to close to. All of her kin were just a few feet away watching, and I guess one of them had the forsight to get a picture of it.