Where The Bison Roam
Title: Want To Fight
Taken: February 19, 2024
Location: Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada
When Monday came around and this week started, I was feeling relatively motivated to get out of the house. It was the long weekend and I was off for four days which I don’t get very often working in a photolab. It was the first Family Day that I had off in years and I wanted to get out and do something. Originally the plan was to get up and work on my western book but the day was young, the sky was clear, and it was going to be an outstandingly beautiful winter day. Now we have been blessed with an abnormally warm winter but it comes with the downfall of not having much snow either. This day I did not care, I wanted to enjoy the day.
The reason of wanting to go out is I wanted to clear my mind and the best way I know how is with nature, with animals, and breathing in the clean air. I was already feeling anxious as had an appointment in the upcoming Saturday that I was feeling relatively anxious about and I didn’t want to think about it. Now I normally am not alone when I go to Elk Island, always having someone tag along with me whether it is a friend, family member, or another fellow photographer. Today I was alone as everyone was busy so I packed up my camera, packed up my dog, and off I went.
Now for those who know me and my dog, you’d know that my dog is not a big dog. A little Lhasa Apso Shih Tzu and she is one hell of a trooper on this adventure. Elk Island is covered in trails for hiking ranging from easy to hard. They vary in length from 1 hour to 4 hours in completion depending on the trail. Now every time I go to Elk Island I always stop at the Bison Loop first which is this round about road where the Plains Bison could be viewed grazing the fields. They are 99% of the time not in this loop or if they are, they are so far out there that you wouldn’t be able to see them without binoculars and even a 600mm lens wouldn’t help you. I saw them there but they were exactly what I explained. They were so far out in the field that they were dots but the day was still young and it was coming on close to noon. Patience is a virtue in Wildlife Photography and that is exactly what I would have to be. Patient.
Now I left for the park well before breakfast and all I had was coffee and a muffin with me. So I pulled into the parking lot for Hayburger Trail to eat a quick bite and seeing the sun was getting a little high in the sky, the photos wouldn’t be great for wildlife as they would just fall flat in the light. I didn’t want to leave so early into the day, I didn’t want to give up, so I grabbed Winnie and we ventured down a ways on the Hayburger Trail. It is marked as an easy trail to follow but it is one of the longer ones in the park and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to complete the whole thing. Not with my little dog as I didn’t want to have to carry her and my camera gear all the way back. This trail is a 12KM (7.4mi) hike that crosses a black spruce bog where boreal birds and moose can be observed. It also winds through open aspen forest and meadows where bison can be seen, but even though this trail is deemed an easy one, you want to stay on the path of the trail as there is hidden areas of quicksand in the meadows. The trail is named after a family that homesteaded in the park until the 1930s. I got some great landscape shots but saw no moose, no bison, not even a squirrel or a bird but I could hear a woodpecker off in the the distance of the spruce trees on the otherside of the bog. It was quiet, peaceful, still early into the day where there wasn’t much visitors yet. I must have hiked in a good 2 or 3KM before I turned around, my dog getting tired from her walk. We headed back and we continued on our way, trying to see if we can spot anything.
We didn’t see much for animals in the hours that we were there for. Hiked a few more trails and had a great time but now the sun was starting to descend in the sky and both Winnie and I were exhausted from the day. Hiked more than 18000 steps and we very much enjoyed the warm day so we started to head out of the park. It was 230 in the afternoon and before we left, I wanted to see if those Plains Bison moved any closer in the Bison Loop. I was determined to get these great beasts. Now I was able to see they came a little closer but they were still way out there but I was determined. I pulled over at the viewing point, pulled out my heavy duty tripod and my camera with the 150-600mm Sigma lens and I set up my little camp. Here I am taking pictures, trying to get at least a great composition of these animals. Other visitors were pulling over, trying to see what I was photographing and asking questions. One of my favorites is from a young lady who asked if I was a wildlife photographer. I told her I am trying to be today but only helps if I can get some wildlife. She smiled and asked what I photographing and I directed her towards the bison off in the distance. It was at that moment she asked how I was even getting a picture and able to see them that far when her husband pointed at the lens on my camera and she began to laugh. She asked if I could take one for her and I told her if I get one I definitely will. I like to think that this photo happened because of her, for her, and that I thank the gods for. I continue taking pictures and I see that they are coming closer to the meadow on the otherside of the loop, closer to the road.
Now Plains Bison, they are not animals you want to get to close to. You want to view these guys from a safe distance and from the safety of your car. This is something that visitors to the parks have to remember. Just because there is lots of people visiting the park on a daily basis doesn’t mean these animals are well sensitized to humans and that they wouldn’t be aggressive. These are still wild animals and when spooked or threatened, they will take action. So please, if visiting these parks with these animals, stay in your cars and be safe. Remember they are still wild animals.
Title: That’s My Dinner
Taken: February 19, 2024
Location: Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada
I was viewing these gorgeous beasts from a safe distance, on the top of a hill with my 600mm lens fully extended. As they emerged from the trees they were ready to put on show. They were chasing each other, locking horns and fighting. I wouldn’t be surprised it was to win over a mate for the spring. I captioned the photo above as That’s My Dinner as if you look closely, you can see a bison looking in my direction, above the ones that are fighting in front of him. They were performing well and I didn’t disappoint in photos.
Title: More Grass
Taken: February 19, 2024
Location: Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada
Title: What You Looking At?
Taken: February 19, 2024
Location: Elk Island National Park
Now we arrive to my favorite photo of the trip. What Are You Looking At? This is what I titled this photo as this bison wasn’t taking his eyes off of me. Slowly he moved closer and closer and I moved further back each time, keeping that safe viewing distance that is set by the park. I would love to know what this bison was thinking. Was he wondering what the heck was on my camera? Was he gauging if I was a threat to him? Actually, this may actually be a cow bison, a female, but either way it was gorgeous. It stood so still I was able to successfully lock my focus onto her or him, capturing the clear light in the eyes, the reflection of the snowy grassland it was standing in, and getting the puffs of snow on its fur. Occassionally I was able to get a puff of its breath coming out from its nose and mouth. A gorgeous animal all around. I took a few shots of the herd but as they moved closer, I packed up and got back into my car. They were starting to get to close and I wanted to continue viewing them from the safety of my car as the loop began to crowd with more visitors. Since there was a large amount of people showing up, park staff had to come by and instruct people to keep their distance, for those closest to the herd to get back into their cars as there was far to many of them standing in the field, getting closer to the bison. Some were even taking their vehicles and driving just into the ditch off the road so they can view the bison from their cars. I am sorry, but should never venture off the road of the parks with your vehicles. This is how accidents happen and it is never the animals fault.
And that is the story on how I got this bison photo, a favorite of them all.