Just after the big snowstorm we had a short time ago, we began having dinner guests in our backyard every night. Three handsome whitetail bucks would show up every night looking for a handout and I was happy to oblige. I got a pretty poor image of one of them and had been thinking of a way to get something a little better, even though they never showed up until it was pitch dark outside. I finally put up a temporary floodlight in the backyard, hoping I could get enough light to get a passable image. Well by the time I got to shoot the boys two of the bucks began losing their antlers. One of them had no antlers left, one had an antler on one side only, and the bigger one still had his full rack. I figured if I didn’t get the image soon, there would be no antlers at all!
I got myself all set up for the shoot. I was stationed in my bathroom with the window open and the lights off. It would be hard for them to see me and the windowsill provided a passable rest for the lens I was using.
This first pic above was just after he finished off a pile of whole corn which somehow got out in my backyard…… :) He was still about 40 yards out and kind of still in a dark area.
This next one he is slowly moving his way toward me. When there are multiple bucks like this (called a bachelor group) there is a hierarchy that becomes noticeable if you watch them interact. God help the poor smaller buck that tries to cut in front of the larger buck to get to the food!!! When the big boy is finished the smaller ones are allowed to take what is left. It’s good to be the King!! About this time he begins to hear the sound of the shutter on the camera.
He’s not alarmed by the sound but is actually curious what it is and where it is coming from. He is constantly checking the breeze to see if he can identify the strange sound. And he is coming closer, little by little. He is maybe about 20 yards away now. I think I’m going to wet my pants….. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!!
He is constantly sniffing the air to try and catch any scent that will help him identify the strange sound, but he can’t quite get a lock on the scent. He is less than 20 yards away now and I am afraid to move because at this range he would definitely catch the movement. But right now his need for food and his curiosity are overriding his sense of danger. This is a good pic to examine his rack too. If both sides were symmetrical he would be a 10 point but he is missing a brow tine on the right (the point closest to his forehead) and he is missing the third tine on the right side. But he is still a very impressive animal. I just hope at least one pic will come out halfway decently. I am shooting at 1/50 of a second and 10000 ISO which is a poor recipe for a quality image but it is at night….
Okay, now he is 15 yards away and I cannot believe how lucky I am!!!! He is at the point where I am having trouble getting his whole head in the picture! This is a full size image with no cropping. He hears the shutter very well now and he is torn between food or flight. But so far he has not picked up my scent yet so he still feels fairly secure. You can get away with some movement and some noise but if they get wind of you they are out of there! Many things move in the woods and many things make noise, but only one thing smells like a human!!
Now he is so close I can’t fit him all in the frame. I included this pic because I thought it was humorous. Here he is the big kid on the block, the king of the forest, and he is standing there in all his glory…… with bird seed stuck on his nose!!!
After this I just put my camera down and watched him feed and interact with the other bucks. There are times when the experience is worth more than the picture and I just marveled at this guy. In a week or two his antlers will fall off and he will just be one of the guys. But he definitely earned his supper tonight…… Hope you enjoy!!