First let me say that this post was already in the works before today, which is why I got quite the laugh this morning when fellow blogger and wildlife photographer, Lyle Krahn awarded me the dubious distinction of the ‘Forgot to Leave’ award! Check out Lyle’s site for the full story as well as his great wildlife photos and stories!
Whenever I come across a carcass I have visions of wolves or cougars, or the even more elusive wolverine catching the scent and coming in to feed. The thought of witnessing these rarely observed animals in the wild doing things that I or few others have ever seen before keeps me out in the wilderness for hours on end. So with that optimism in mind, I hunkered down and waited. As you can probably imagine, sitting around in -15 degree Celsius temperatures is no fun. You can’t move around to keep warm since that will scare off any wildlife and the cold has a way of quickly removing any resolve that might have initially been there. But that day I was determined to give it a few hours so I waited some more. Within about an hour some magpies showed up and distracted me from the cold. In between feeding on the kill, they flew off to cash their food. Before flying back down to get more pieces of meat they perched in nearby trees and called out. This was great for me since it gave me enough time to turn the camera back on, compose the image and get my finger out of my glove to fire off the shutter. In their typical dramatic aerial flare, they swooped down to the carcass and fanned out their beautiful wings and tail feathers. I was treated to these displays for hours but eventually my resolve was broken. The tipping point was the hot packs I had placed in my boots and gloves could no longer keep my toes and fingers warm. Getting a few images like this made the surrender a little easier but as I hiked back to my car I wondered what I would have seen if I had waited a bit longer.
That is funny and certainly proves my point!
Indeed!
It’s not often that I read a sentence that begins with the words, “Whenever I come across a carcass…”. I must live a sheltered suburban life, because the only dead animals that I see are ones that have been run over by a car.
I am pretty confident that my resolve would have crumbled a lot earlier than yours did. I am concerned that we will have a high temperature of about minus six degrees today and I will get a little cold walking to my car.
You may not have captured “big game,” but your photo of the magpie is wonderful.
Glad you liked the photo Mike! My experiences in Banff aren’t that different than yours. The only difference is instead of cars, most wildlife carcasses I find in Banff are due to trains.
This is the challenge of a real wildlife photographer! Thanks for sharing the story with us!
Thanks Thomas! It’s just a hobby for me but one I love! Looks like you are also familiar with the waiting game…nice site!
Worth the wait and the frost-bite I would say 🙂