| Friday, July 14, 2023 | | Springing into summertime | While I have been posting some on social media (aka FB), I obviously have not written a longer blog since earlier in the spring! I have a really good nature-based reason for that. Spring 2023 was one of the wettest in years, best I can remember. And this wasn’t the dramatic and picturesque rain we see in summer with mounting cumulus clouds that turn dark as a quick thundersquall races through in late afternoon, leaving a rainbow as a calling card. No, think medium to white-gray skies with very little cloud definition, and drizzles to downpours making the entire landscape look bedraggled. We had so much rain, and overcast skies, that even before the wildfires up north began sending smoke far southward, we had hardly any colorful sunrises and sunsets. Sea oats, which thrive in drought, are extremely late to bloom this year. In past years, I photograph their emergence typically in late June; occasionally I have had to wait until the 4th of July to make my annual seascape with new sea oats image. Not this year. I have been checking every few days and they were only just beginning to show some seed heads and green color a couple days ago in Nags Head. But I can at last also report a weather change as of last week. We have had hot dry days, with an occasional thunderstorm, and I saw the prettiest sunset up in Duck since last winter over last weekend.
I did make three excursions up to Carova before the beach got very crowded, none of which combined best light with best tide with best winds, but I did manage to observe one of this year’s foals, Drake, when he was just a week old, and cavorting all around the beach like a baby goat while his mother Amelia, his sire Cowboy and the other mares in the family harem circled around him with constant vigilance. He was a treat to watch! One early morning, Dan Waters rode north with me and while we did not see horses at first light by the water, we did watch a pale sun rise dimly through the smoky haze while Sanderlings foraged at the water’s edge.
I drove down to Buxton in May for a sea turtle release at the old lighthouse site. The Green Sea Turtles had been cold-stunned over the winter, and the one Loggerhead had been injured. The work that the STAR sea turtle recovery hospital does in Manteo is truly amazing. If you are visiting the area, I highly recommend a visit there – just don’t do what the rest of the vacationing world does and pick the rainy day! The Aquarium gets so crowded on those days, that staff has to limit entry.
In June, I dropped off new work to Down Creek Gallery and for the first time ever, was able to enter the base of Ocracoke Lighthouse and point my lens up the stairwell. The lighthouse has been closed even to public view of the inside but is open some this summer for looking up the stairwell at random hours, depending on availability of NPS personnel and volunteers.
Meanwhile, rain or shine, I have still been spending a lot of time in my go-to sanctuary spot, Alligator River Refuge. While I have seen one of the critically endangered Red Wolves on occasion, sightings have been much less since the parents denned again and had a new litter on April 11, and since the cornfields have grown so high on Long Curve. I had a few brief life-list moments the other morning shortly after sunrise when a Red Wolf and a young black bear shared the field edge for a few minutes. Even more than before, every glimpse is a thrill and a gift.
While out looking for Red Wolves, I can’t help but notice the bears. As the black bears begin to emerge into view in spring, we start to see the big male boar bears first. They are on the hunt for eligible females and the mating behavior can be hilarious to watch. Some females are ready and willing while others show little or definitely no interest. Yearling bears who have spent all their lives at their mother’s side suddenly find themselves thrust out into the world on their own, so their mothers can mate again, and the yearlings are often spooky, startling at every passing car and keeping watch for larger, aggressive, territorial males. With friends who were here from Virginia, I watched a wounded, huge male bear chase a young, small bear along a berm even though that youngster was clearly no threat to him. That younger bear had earlier left the berm and gone into the brush and out of sight – until he gave his position away by standing up to see where the larger bear was. That was the moment the bigger bear began to give chase. The two charged through the brush until they reappeared atop the berm. Once the younger got some distance away, the larger male quit chasing him and turned around to go into the fields and forage. Judging from how beat up some of the older males look, and the fresh wounds some show, the fights between males for dominance can be brutal, and I am glad to report I have not witnessed those. I am not naïve; I know it happens, but I don’t have to watch it.
I would much rather watch and photograph the gentler and tender side of nature. So I am looking for the bigger bears soaking in the canals for some relief from the heat. Add in a sleepy-eyed bear napping and the “awwww” factor goes way up. And for maximum “awww” I watch for mother bears bringing itty-bitty cubs out into the fields or leading them safely back into the woods. Bear cubs are curious and will often stand up to get a better look at their surroundings. They are already adept swimmers and will follow their mother into and through the canals to reach the fields, and cross again back to the sanctuary and safety of the woods. A mother will send her babies high up into the trees if she goes to forage alone, since the big males will attack and kill cubs so the female will come into breeding season earlier. There is a reason “mama bear” is a shorthand phrase for a fiercely protective mother.
With that said, the refuge roads are (as is typical) more crowded this time of year with visitors who hope to see a bear in the wild. I always, always, always need to remind myself that the choice to bring your family into the outdoors for an adventure is a good one. I see how the effects of time outdoors have influenced my own now grown grandboys and the men they have become. But folks who come here to visit don’t always realize that the bear they are hanging out their car window to photograph with their cell phone (or are climbing out to photograph with a cell phone at close range) has babies nearby. Absolutely, enjoy and observe! Drink in the experience, yes. But be cautious, smart, and above all, respectful. If you give wildlife some space, you will see more and learn more. You will have the chance, as I have had, to watch wonderful and precious wildlife interactions not on your large screen smart TV, but with your own eyes in the wild. The keyword here is “smart” – and patience. Don’t cut a mother bear off from her cubs, or prevent a mother and cubs from crossing the roadway and getting where she needs them to go. Back up, be still, don’t rush, and the rewards are immense. And you will also know you have not stressed the animals or put them (or yourself) in any danger as you observe. Are animals aware of your presence? Of course! That is how generations of animals have survived, through awareness. But there is a difference between being aware of and totally unconcerned about someone’s presence and being stressed by that presence. I have watched animals show sudden signs of stress or agitation merely when a vehicle approaches too fast – or the occupants clearly are loud or agitated or even angry themselves. I have also observed animals who are completely calm and relaxed, continuing their natural behavior even as I photograph them with my long telephoto lens. That is why I always try to go out with my very best thoughts possible. I KNOW from long experience how sensitive animals and birds are, and I am trying for the remainder of my earthly life to learn from them, and to match my sensitivity to theirs. One final word: NEVER, and I mean never, try to feed a bear (or a wolf, either, for that matter) or to make a selfie or a photo with you or a family member and a bear close in the background! (This should all go without saying, but yup, I am going to say it.) Some of the bears have gotten so bold around cars that those of us who photograph and are out in the Refuge a lot, as well as some of the FWS personnel or volunteers I have talked to are concerned that folks may have fed them, or carelessly left trash behind. There is no good outcome for such behavior—for the animals or for humans. Don’t even think about it. Okay, soapbox speech over (for now).
The other day, I set myself a task of spending an entire day, dawn to dusk, in the Refuge. I packed in water and trail mix snacks. I blessed the porta-potty at the end of Buffalo City Road and the folks who clean it. I did not have over-the-top wildlife sightings until late in the day when I did watch a mother bear bring three itty-bitty baby bears across the road and into the woods. As I drove out of the refuge, a barred owl flew ahead of me down the last stretch of Milltail before veering west shortly before the parking area at the entrance. I paused at the canal to catch the last light of the day in what turned out to also become my “heart of the day” photograph. In that moment, I was reminded all over again why I do what I do. Why I get up way before 0’dark:thirty. Why I spend long hours in the field, every chance I get. It’s the love. It’s the chance to immerse in all the gifts nature offers, to renew my own spirit and to recommit on a regular basis to bring my best self, my best love, to all I do and say and even think. I hope you enjoy some of these gifts of love below.
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click for larger image | This is as bright as sunrise became in Carova when the Canada wildfires caused smokey hazy skies over the Outer Banks. |
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click for larger image | Frisky new foal Drake practices prancing for the ladies. His mother, Amelia, and the other two mares watch closely. |
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click for larger image | I'm used to waiting out an elusive, longed-for wildlife sighting. But waiting out a sunset? Finally, a pretty one! |
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click for larger image | I not only waited...I specifically asked for these two to share the field's edge, and share with me. So, so grateful. |
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click for larger image | While I have seen bears stand up in fields or on the roadside before, this is the first time I have seen a bear stand up in a tree for a better view. |
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posted by eturek at 3:34 PM |
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