2311_2450 Nuttall's Cottontail
Today I'm starting a winter wildlife photo set, all mammals. The species that can survive our northern prairie winters are relatively few, and not many of them are birds. Some of the mammals - prairie dogs, ground squirrels - go underground to sleep away the winter. Others, including badgers, become torpid in their dens to save energy. As I'm not going to try crawling into a badger's den, we'll just be looking at a few species that remain active throughout the winter.
What may surprise some who follow my "stream" is that most of the dozen images, including this, were obtained on foot, not from the rolling red Toyota blind. I lay flat on the snow to photograph this Nuttall's Cottontail, and it went about its grooming without seeming disturbed. That is the key. To learn how to spend time with animals while not appearing threatening in any way.
Even though I have hundreds or even thousands of shots of these critters, every encounter was a thrill for me - a moment when whatever I tried... worked. There's no better feeling.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2311_2450 Nuttall's Cottontail
Today I'm starting a winter wildlife photo set, all mammals. The species that can survive our northern prairie winters are relatively few, and not many of them are birds. Some of the mammals - prairie dogs, ground squirrels - go underground to sleep away the winter. Others, including badgers, become torpid in their dens to save energy. As I'm not going to try crawling into a badger's den, we'll just be looking at a few species that remain active throughout the winter.
What may surprise some who follow my "stream" is that most of the dozen images, including this, were obtained on foot, not from the rolling red Toyota blind. I lay flat on the snow to photograph this Nuttall's Cottontail, and it went about its grooming without seeming disturbed. That is the key. To learn how to spend time with animals while not appearing threatening in any way.
Even though I have hundreds or even thousands of shots of these critters, every encounter was a thrill for me - a moment when whatever I tried... worked. There's no better feeling.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.