I returned once again to three of my favorite areas: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Steens Mountain and Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge. I have been visiting these areas since the early 90s, usually arriving early autumn to take wildlife shots as well as witnessing the changing colors of autumn. Malheur is a great place for birding, and every year it's a bit different. Although there was less water than in previous years, there was still plenty to photograph. Mule deer were common along the Patrol Road, both in the north and south sections, and there were lots of opportunities to sight mature bucks as well as does and fawns.
This meadowlark shot was a lucky one since they are very "flighty" birds (pun intended). In this case the bird was about 100 feet away and I was shooting from the car. By the time I got my camera in place I only could fire off two shots, and one was not in focus. I love the background on this photo, since it doesn't distract from the bird and complements its color.
There are always plenty of opportunities to get close-ups of mule deer, especially does. Bucks are a bit more timid. However, they are not hunted in the refuge, which makes it much easier to fill the frame.
We traveled the Patrol Road a few times during our stay, and that's where we see mule deer along with a variety of birds. Pheasant are really abundant, but that doesn't make them easy to photograph since they are always scurrying away and into the bushes. but sometimes, they give a curious look-back, just for a few seconds. Most of the shooting is done from the vehicle. I use a large beanbag, which is produced by Arthur Morris. He calls it a BLUBB, which is an acronym for something I can't remember. It really provides a good foundation for large lenses. I use a 600mm, and usually I have a 1.4x converter attached. A 400mm also works well, especially for the closer shots and those that require a bit more speed in getting the camera position. I love the 400 since it works well for flight photography, and is completely hand-holdable. Just make sure that the shooting speed is fast enough to prevent blurring.
Like last year, there wasn't much water since rainfall had been pretty spared during the year. Buena Vista pond was drying up, but it still attracted a few egrets.
Eventually we made our way up to Steens Mountain. Because of the low rainfall and warmer temperature for this time of year, the color changes were later than normal. In fact, during all the years I have been visiting the area, this was the latest.
We hiked into Wildhorse Lake, spent time fishing and taking pictures. It's a grunt to get in and out, and the decision to visit this place depends on the condition of the participants. In addition we're up at 10,000 feet, which definitely results in more grunting.
A couple days at Hart Mountain National Wildlife refuge brought in some great shots. Antelope were commonly seen. Mule deer were a bit more elusive, but we found this pair along one of the back roads.
Like the Steens, Hart Mountain lies in the northwest corner of the Great Basin Desert and constitutes part of what is known ecologically and the Basin and Range Country, which is a series of north-south mountain ranges. They were produced as a result of the geological stretching of the land, which caused the earth's crust to literally fall and split into pieces. These blocks fractured along lines not perpendicular to the earth's surface but obliquely at about 60 degrees. To compensate for the shift in the center of gravity, the blocks rotated. The high side of the block came to rest against the low side of another forming basin and range, producing a moderate slope on one side of the block and a steep escarpment on the other. Hart Mountain is the classic example and is described by geologists as the world's best-defined fault block
We stopped at the headquarters and spoke with the supervisor of the refuge, Marla Bennett. She mentioned that there were about 2,500 pronghorns on the refuge. We seemed to find them just about around every bend. The bucks are often found alone or in pairs, and in many cases, they are easy to photograph. I was using a 600 mm lens with a 1.4 converter for the most part, shooting at ISO 200 to 400 with my widest aperture. This creates a softer background, which is my view, is very pleasing.
Our biggest thrill was coming upon a group of wild horses. Given that they seemed well fed, we thought that they might be domestics that were let out on their own for a while, but Marla confirmed that they were wild, and with the plentiful grass they definitely looked healthy. These are the first wild horses that I've photographed. There were nine in this small heard with a couple of roan colts. They seemed to be curious about our presence and came within about 20 yards of us. However, the stallion, pictured below, kept its distance and his eyes on us.
This is the stallion (below) that seemed to be the leader of the herd
And then there were coyotes.
