Jerry Mercier - my world

What you can't see

2011-11-09T19:09:00.001-06:00

The Big Dipper over an eroded rock formation in the badlands of western North Dakota.

I arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park just before sunset and quickly made my way to an overlook of the Little Missouri River.

The color on the clouds was gone in minutes and I scambled to make some useful images.

After the sun went down I drove the park road looking for possible photos.

I parked in a gravel parking lot off of the main road and walked about a hundred yards to the base of a large eroded rock formation. As the night got later the Big Dipper became visible just above it.

I set to work photographing the scene.

While I was photographing the night sky I could hear a great horned owl in the distance and coyotes howling nearby.

After a few minutes I heard a clip clop, clip clop, on the asphalt road several hundred yards away. The sound was getting louder and I realized that wild horses were trotting on the road. It sounded like they were coming towards me and I heard one or more of them whinny.

I smiled and continued photographing the butte and starry sky. Then I heard the sound of hooves on gravel and stood there in the dark looking towards the source of the sound.

Although it was dark, I could see three horses running right down the trail I had walked in on and coming towards me. I kept a hand on my camera and tripod and stood there watching what the horses would do.

I had a big smile as the three young stallions ran within thirty feet of me. One of the horses seemed to be chasing the others off. After they got forty yards past me he swung his rear around and kicked at the other two horses. Those horses whinnied and kept right on running.

The triumphant horse paused, stood there, and watched them leave. Then he turned and ran back the way he had come in. As he went past me I told him, "thanks a lot and have a great night". He swung his head over, looked at me and continued running.

What a cool night.

Come on Sun, You Can Do It

2011-09-17T14:50:00.001-05:00

I spent a considerable amount of time in the Upper Geyser Basin on this trip. I saw Old Faithful erupt more than twenty times(even at night), but this was my favorite eruption.

Everything came together and made for outstanding images.

Remnants of storm clouds from the night before moved across the sky.

Just a minute earlier with the sun hidden behind the clouds the scene looked like this. To the east I saw a gap in the clouds and rooted for the sun to come out before the geyser erupted. "Come on sun, you can do it."

I visited with a guy from Ohio, one of only a few dozen people waiting for the eruption at 7:30 in the morning. We both continued to wait and hoped for the sun.

The conditions were perfect for great images, the golden grass, the beautiful clouds, the blue sky. All I needed was the sun.

Old Faithful coughed a little and burped a little water and steam, indicating an impending eruption. I held my breath, waiting on the sun.

Just as a column of super heated water and steam shot out of the geyser and over 100 feet into the air everything came together. The clouds parted and the sun shone through.

It was even better than I had hoped. There was more steam, the colors were more vivid, and the eruption lasted longer than most. Old Faithful had shown its best.

The colors and light were unbelievable. I was smiling and laughing as I photographed the scene.

The eruption lasted only a few minutes, five at most. Lucky for me, the sun made it through the clouds just in time and stayed out for at least six minutes. Perfect.

After the eruption a column of steam rose from the cone of Old Faithful Geyser and steam from Castle Geyser mirrored it.

What an excellent morning in an outstanding place. Only Yellowstone.

No One Was There To See It

2011-09-17T13:18:00.002-05:00

I love this image of empty benches and red steam rising from Old Faithful on a stormy night.

The park was still crowded at the end of August just before Labor Day weekend. During the day hundreds of people filled the benches around Old Faithful to watch the world's most famous geyser erupt.

Yet, at 4am the benches were empty and no one else was there to see this unlikely sight.

I'm glad I was.

What a Night

2011-09-04T12:37:00.003-05:00

I finally made it back to Yellowstone and didn't want to waste a minute or any opportunities while I was there, so I kept my camera working through the nights.

I would have preferred to be in Yellowstone the second week of September. By then the elk are rutting and the nights are cold enough to allow for huge amounts of steam over geysers and thermal features.

Life, and my schedule dictated that the end of August would be my only chance to go west. So I found myself living my Yellowstone dream during the last week of August.

I sure am glad that I went. As I can still say there is never a bad day to be in Yellowstone.

I made this photo of red steam rising from the cone of Old Faithful Geyser and lightning in the distance at around 3am.

The photo hasn't been manipulated with photoshop or any other software. The colors are as they appeared to me and the camera at the time.

You may wonder why the steam is red. This is the short story.

The night started out starry and clear.

I used long exposures to paint star trails above Old Faithful Geyser.

And then.... huge thunderstorms rolled through the area bringing rain, wind, and lightning. The storms were fast moving and were gone in just an hour or so, leaving clear skies behind.

Just after I made this image of stars and lodgepole pine trees, the thunder rolled and rain began to fall. I moved to a sheltered location and kept on shooting, hoping to catch lightning over Old Faithful.

Lightning struck fairly close by while I was standing there photographing the night sky and fire alarms went off at the Old Faithful Inn.

The alarms were loud and unyielding. After about twenty minutes firemen parked their truck outside the Inn and left the lights on as they went inside. The red from the fire truck's lights made the steam rising from Old Faithful red in the image.

Once the alarms were quieted and the fire truck left it was almost sunrise and I continued to shoot as big clouds rolled across the sky and lightning occasionally lit the insides.

What a beautiful night in the world's first national park.

It was late and the bugs were bad, but I'm glad I stopped...

2011-07-19T03:32:00.003-05:00

Well after sunset on Fish Creek and Lake Superior.

I've been trying to figure out how best to photograph a certain area of Lake Superior for a few days now. With mixed results.

Tonight's plan was to wear my swim trunks, take my camera and tripod and stay in the lake.

After just a few minutes I found this painted turtle. I tried to get some photos, but it was tough going. There was no dry land or shoreline to speak of. There was no good place to put the turtle down and get to work.

It took some effort, but eventually I found a log out in the water and made a few images.

Things didn't start out smoothly. Or end smoothly, for that matter. I was kneeling in water about 2 feet deep and working with my camera on a tripod just above the water.

I used to be a lot more cautious with my cameras and water. At some point I realized that the cameras were only tools and of little value if I couldn't take them where the best photos were possible.

So I'd set the turtle on the log, capture a couple of images and it would slide off and swim away. I'd catch the turtle and do it again. After only a couple of times I realized it wasn't the answer, but as I stood up to catch the turtle the sand under the tripod shifted and the camera was heading towards the drink. I grabbed it quickly.

The lens and body were a little wet, but I caught it before the entire thing was submerged. I used my cotton t shirt to dry it and blew the water off of and out of any places I could. After the camera was about as dry as I could get it I took a photo to see if it was still working. Jackpot! It seemed no worse for wear.

So I set the turtle free and made a few images of it in the shallow water as it left.

The timing was pretty good and when I looked up I saw this cloud to the east.

To the west the sun was almost at the horizon.

I kept scanning the sky for good looking clouds, color, and compositions as the light quickly changed.

These clouds presented a more subtle view to the east.

And red, blue, and black to the west.

When I got done I was standing knee deep in the lake a couple of hundred yards from the nearest land. It was well after dark when I carefully put my camera into its mostly dry case and picked up my tripod to walk back to the car. I had at least a half a mile to walk through the lake and I couldn't see the bottom now that the sun was gone. I was leaving a different way than I had come in and didn't know how deep it was. The water was warm and it had been a hot day, so it was still a pretty good place to be.

I walked through the water back to the nearest shoreline. There were reeds and plants all the way into the water, no beaches to walk on. So I walked next to the land in the lake until I got to a point where the bottom dropped out. It went from knee deep to waist deep in one step and it was only getting deeper. So I chose to backtrack.

Plan B was to cut across a fairly wide river channel at its mouth where it met the lake. If I got across I could walk along that shore up to a road that would take me back to the car. I didn't know how deep it would be and any concern I had was for my camera. So I held the camera bag on my shoulder with my left hand and put the tripod over my right shoulder. If it got too deep I'd drop the tripod and do whatever it took to keep the camera dry.

With that I headed across. It never got deeper than my chest and I made it to the other side with my camera and tripod still dry. As I walked in the water along that shore I noticed the sky to the west and stopped to get the camera out again.

It was late and the bugs were bad, but I'm glad I stopped.

This is what I saw.

The Nick of Time

2011-07-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

It had been overcast for hours when I saw some light in the sky. I grabbed a camera and tripod and made for Lake Superior.

I got there just in time to catch this cloud above Fish Creek where it meets the Great Lake. The light only lasted a minute.

Lucky for me there was still light over the lake.

So I made several images in the little time I had.

Like this.

And this.

And then it was gone.

Just getting wet

2011-07-17T01:31:00.006-05:00

It was still 90 degrees just before sunset when I got to Lake Superior. I kicked off my shoes and got in the water. I had only a few minutes before I lost the daylight as the sun went down.

There were almost no clouds in the sky and the day just sort of slipped away.

This is what it looked like just after sunset.

Since I had no subject and wasn't in a hurry to leave the water, I screwed around and made a few self portraits. I'm glad I did, because about ten minutes after sunset the sky to the west got a little color.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

It surely wasn't a spectacular sunset, but I was glad to be standing knee deep in the lake on a such a warm night.

Another self portrait with the western sky behind me.

I made the mistake of setting my camera bag down on an exposed sandbar in the lake as I took my camera and tripod and went further out to get photos. About twenty minutes later I looked back to what had been the sandbar and saw only my camera case on the water.

It was already pretty dark as I made my way back to see if anything important had gotten wet. My extra memory card was sealed in a Ziploc bag and seemed no worse for wear. A couple of filters and an owners manual got soaked, no big deal.

I'm gonna have to google it, but I'm pretty sure that Lake Superior has tides similar to an ocean's. The water had risen a few inches in just half an hour.

All in all it was a good night. I didn't get the photos I was hoping for, but I had fun trying.

Update- I did google it, and found the water fluctuations in Lake Superior aren't actually tides, they are called seiches(pronounced saysh).

You can click here to learn more

http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/newsletter/2000/02/bonanza_for_lake_superior_seiches_do_more_than_move_water.html

or; http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/seiches.htm

Another day, another tree frog

2011-07-12T20:04:00.001-05:00

When it rains, it pours.

After several years of seeing no eastern gray tree frogs and one unsuccessful attempt at photographing said frog, I finally found and got photos of a tree frog about a week ago. Then without even trying I found another gray tree frog last weekend.

It took a couple of hours for the sun, wind, and frog to all cooperate, but eventually I was able to make some pictures of this frog as well.

So I've gone from no good tree frog images to a plethora of them.

Lucky me.

I really like the dexterity, balance, and overall stickiness these frogs exhibit. They are some of the coolest critters out there.

I hope my luck holds up and I keep getting more cool things falling in my lap.

At least this one made it

2011-07-06T17:26:00.001-05:00

My dad had bluebirds nesting in a house on his land. The birds had successfully hatched their chicks and had been feeding them regularly.

One day when I was with him my dad asked me to check the nest. So I walked over and opened the bird house door to look inside.

The good news was that this fledgling eastern bluebird was inside the house.

The bad news was that its four nest mates were dead and the nest was soaking wet.

It had stormed and rained heavily a day or two earlier and apparently the water got blown into the house and onto the young bluebirds.

I carefully took the live fledgling from the house and then cleaned out the wet nest and dead birds. The little bluebird looked pretty rough and there were no adults around so I couldn't tell if it had been abandoned or not.

I decided to take the baby bird and get some meal worms and see if it would eat.

I googled bluebirds and learned what I should try to do. Once I got the worms from a local bait shop I offered one to the baby bird. It wouldn't eat, but it did poop.

I took that poop to mean that it had been fed by its parents fairly recently. I got some tissues to use as bedding in the now empty birdhouse and took the bluebird back home.

I put the tissues and baby bird back in the house and closed the door. Then my dad and I waited to see if the adult birds would come to the nest.

It was less than a minute before an adult male bluebird landed on the birdhouse and then went inside. When he came out he went to the ground, caught an insect and went right back inside the house to feed the baby bird. We watched for about ten more minutes as the male bluebird continued to catch and deliver food for its baby in the house.

It didn't feel so great to have four bluebirds dead in the house but I was glad one made it. We checked on the little bird the next day and it looked and acted much healthier. A few days later when we checked the bird had already fledged and was no longer in the house.

My kingdom for a tree frog

2011-07-06T14:40:00.002-05:00

Several years ago I found a gray tree frog at my parents house in northern Wisconsin. I tried but wasn't able to make any decent images of that frog.

Since then I kept hoping to get another chance. Last week I finally got my chance. I found another gray tree frog and photographed the heck out of it.

I really love the color and expressiveness of this little frog.

Though it's called a gray tree frog this one was a beautiful shade of green.

One of the greatest features about tree frogs are their feet. They seem to stick to almost anything with their specialized toes and feet.

After I made these images I took the frog back to the spot where I had found him.

Here the frog seems to effortlessly cling to the side of a maple tree.

Far away

2011-07-06T14:03:00.014-05:00

Several years ago my life went to hell. Important things weren't working, people lied and cheated and I wasn't doing well. On an August afternoon I got in my car with no luggage, no plan, and I started driving west.

I drove for about an hour before I had a choice to make. The interstate highway split; to the left was I90 which headed through southern Minnesota to South Dakota and Montana. Going straight I94 went through central Minnesota and North Dakota before it rejoined and became I90 near Billings Montana.

I didn't know where to go, I just wanted to get away. I pulled to the shoulder of the expressway and sat there for a couple of minutes.

I went left.

It had been awhile since I had seen South Dakota.

The sun was already getting low as I crossed the Mississippi River and followed the road as it climbed the bluffs above LaCrosse Wisconsin.

I always liked driving into the sunset. I didn't know where I was going, but it felt good to be heading west as the sun went down.

A few hours later, and I had passed through the farmlands of southern Minnesota into South Dakota.

The skies were clear and the night proved uneventful as I continued west. Nothing but a little truck traffic and time to think.

I started to get tired so I stopped to sleep for awhile at a rest area somewhere in South Dakota. I fell asleep lying on a picnic table watching shooting stars cross the night sky.

The sun rose in my rear view mirror. It was a good start to another warm and sunny day.

I decided to stop in Wall South Dakota just because I could.
I had seen signs advertising Wall since Minnesota. I had been there before, but that was a long time ago.

I pulled off the interstate and pulled into a parking space in front of an old west (in a movie sort of way) looking building advertising free ice water. I walked in, got some water, and stretched my legs. It was a spacious building with lots of souvenirs and mementos. Though it was early, quite a few tourists were milling around and living the dream in Wall.

I was glad I stopped, but didn't stay long.

I had already seen the signs for Badlands National Park but decided not to visit. I had spent a little time there in August years ago and still remembered the 100 plus degree heat.

It wasn't long and I could see the Black Hills off in the distance. I could picture cool breezes and shade from big ponderosa pine trees in my mind. Maybe I'd go there.

It was only an hour and I was in Rapid City South Dakota. Again I needed to make a choice. Go left, and I'd be headed towards Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park and the Black Hills. Go right, and I'd be headed towards Wyoming and eventually Yellowstone National Park.

I really loved Yellowstone. For me it was good for the soul.

I turned right.

The road I was on, I90 swung north along the edge of the Black Hills. In the distance on the right side I could see a tall hill standing all alone on the open plains.

I didn't know what it was, but thought I should check it out.

As I got closer to the hill there was an exit for Sturgis South Dakota. I got off of the highway.

Every year Sturgis holds a huge motorcycle rally which draws 100s of thousands of people to the town with a normal population of about 6,000.

I got into Sturgis just after the rally had ended. There were still vendors taking down their tents and storefronts, but very few bikers around. I stopped at a grocery store and got a little something to eat and a local newspaper.

The paper said a mountain lion with a radio collar had been hit and killed on the road that went to Bear Butte. The hill I was looking for was called Bear Butte.

I had always wanted to see wild mountain lions, live mountain lions, not dead. It was good to know they were around.

I found signs for Bear Butte and followed them a few miles out of town until I got to the lone peak. I stopped to pay the daily fee and drove up to the parking lot.

Although there is a nice visitor center, I only used their bathroom and water fountain to fill two empty water bottles I had with me.

It was already evening as I took my water and started up the trail towards the summit of Bear Butte. The weather was beautiful and occasionally a cool breeze blew along the edge of the hill.

I stopped often to soak in the amazing views. The Great Plains stretched into the distance flat and unbroken in three directions and to the south rose the bluish colored Black Hills.

Bear Butte had been called Bear Mountain by some Native Americans and from the right direction it resembles the silhouette of a bear.

Two prairie falcons cried out and coasted along the side of the mountain. A mule deer doe and fawn stood up and started to eat on the hillside below me. I only saw five other people on the trail and they were all heading down as I was going up.

I found some rocks jutting out from the ridge line where I could stand, stretch out my arms, and lean into the wind. The wind was blowing strongly enough that It could actually hold me up. For a few minutes I smiled broadly and laughed out loud as the wind whipped against my face and body holding me upright as I leaned forward trusting it not to drop me.

What a great day!

I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures to share with you. A couple of years ago malware got the better of my computer and I lost the few images I had made that day with my point and shoot camera.

A little later as I sat facing northwest on the side of the hill I had a 'different' experience. It was something a bit hard to explain and maybe unbelievable to some. All I have to say about it is that I got some much needed help from an unlikely source and my perspective had to shift to accommodate what happened.

I stayed at the top until the sun went down and then slowly followed the trail back to my vehicle. I made some notes about what happened and then headed back through Sturgis to the interstate and home.

Ponderosa pine trees at the top of Bear Butte.

I noticed that the shadow from the mountain forms an almost perfect pyramid shape on the ground to the east at sunset. Some of the shadow can be seen on the right side of the above photo.

Sunset from the summit.

I went back to Bear Butte a year after my first trip hoping to have a similar experience. I didn't. Though I did take a point and shoot camera. The two photos are from my second trip.

Finally....

2011-06-30T23:19:00.002-05:00

A few years ago I noticed a blue flag iris like this growing at the edge of a pond in summer. I never took any photos, but really liked how it looked.

At the time I didn't even know what kind of flower it was.

Over the next couple of years I noticed the flower growing near different ponds and lakes I visited.

Every time I found them, either the flowers were past their prime and not looking the best or I didn't have my camera with me.

This past weekend everything changed.

I went looking to photograph elk near Clam Lake Wisconsin and only saw two elk after sunset. Needless to say, I didn't get any elk photos, but I did find a great looking blue flag iris growing at the edge of a small pond.

The first evening I found the flower I only had a couple of minutes to take pictures before the sun went behind the trees and I lost my light.

So I was there the next morning by 6:30 to get another shot at it. In my head I had an idea of the image that I wanted to create.

I'm glad I went back because I was able to get the photo that I had imagined and a bunch more as well.

Looking for Wisconsin elk

2011-06-30T14:00:00.003-05:00

One afternoon my dad and I drove to the Clam Lake area looking for elk.

Just a few minutes into our drive we saw a group of mallard ducklings and I was able to get this image.

Once we got to Clam Lake we started driving some of the roads hoping to find elk. It has been my experience that the only way to get decent Wisconsin elk photos is to locate them from the roads and shoot from the car.

We found this painted turtle soon after we started driving around. I learned a long time ago to photograph the subject I do have when there is good light. So on this day, the turtle in the hand was worth two or more possible elk in the bush.

The turtle wasn't particularly patient with me so we left her to find an appropriate place to lay her eggs and got back to elk.

No elk, but we did see lots more painted turtles. I kept an eye on the clouds and sky planning for possible sunset shots and located a patch of wild lupines that would still be in sunlight later on.

The shadows were getting long and there were still no elk to be had when we headed to the lupines.

As I walked into the patch of flowers it was quickly apparent that a black bear had been there too. Flowers were knocked over and every couple of feet there were bear sized areas where all of the plants had been flattened as the bear sat on them.

I was glad the bear had walked through first, as I could follow its path and knock down a lot fewer flowers myself. I tried to create some decent images before I lost my light.

I silhouetted this lupine as the sun got low on the horizon.

I was optimistic as we headed for Day Lake hoping to capture some good sunset photos. It turns out, the light never really showed up, but quite a few mosquitoes did as I watched the sun dip below the horizon.

I made only a few images and sat down to enjoy the view as daylight slipped away.

Here I am watching the colors fade after a fun afternoon photographing elk with my dad.

A good couple of days for young birds

2011-06-30T00:30:00.004-05:00

I spent last weekend near Lake Superior and was lucky enough to find and photograph a couple of different young birds like this mallard duckling.

For several years I had been hoping to find a cooperative duckling and finally I got my chance.

This killdeer chick is almost as big as an adult but still unable to fly.

I really like the patterns and coloring of killdeer. The orange ring around their eye is very distinctive. This chick is big enough that it almost has its adult plumage.

In the last month I've had a lot of luck capturing images of birds, landscapes, and different critters that had alluded me for a long time. I hope it's the start of a positive trend.

A Little Help From My Friend

2011-06-18T00:19:00.002-05:00

So the light wasn't very good, but I really wanted to make some photos. That left me with flowers, or......frogs. I asked my kids if they wanted to help me catch a frog or two and maybe we could get some good frog pictures.

The boys were eager to help so we headed off to a nearby pond hoping to find a big beautiful frogs. We did. Like this adult male green frog with a very yellow chin and neck.

We caught a couple of very good looking green frogs and briefly transported them for easier working conditions.

The frogs were both males and had a lot of yellow on their throats and chins.

My son Josh played frog wrangler while I photographed the frogs. He helped the frog to stay on a rock, wet, and happy while I took the photos.

With both Josh and the frogs showing great patience I was able to get some pretty cool images.

After a little while we took the frogs back to their pond and released them.

It had been awhile since I photographed any frogs and it was fun. I think they have great looking eyes and faces.

As an added bonus we found some polliwogs. This polliwog is a green frog in the middle of its transformation from a tadpole to an adult. I think it's cool to see these soon to be frogs with tails.

Here's a look behind the curtain. It seems Josh has had about enough of his wrangling duties. All and all our frog adventure was lots of fun for me, my kids, and(hopefully) the frogs.

A few more fawn photos

2011-06-09T13:30:00.002-05:00

I was in northern Wisconsin and spotted this white-tailed deer doe nursing her new fawn. I didn't have my camera with me so I went to get it.

Once I had my camera in hand I approached the deer hoping to get some photos. The doe ran off and the fawn quickly dropped to the ground and lay prone.

After a short while the little deer got up and ran into the woods. With some diligent searching I was able to locate it again, this time in its new and improved hiding place.

It had been more than twenty years since I last found and photographed a fawn this small, so I was feeling really lucky to have the opportunity again.

I quietly talked to the deer while I worked to get some good photos.

The fawn was laying in a small woods mostly in the shadows.

The sun was getting low on the horizon and every now and then a little light would filter through the trees and fall on the bedded deer.

Just before leaving, I took this last photo and thanked the fawn for its patience. About twenty minutes later I went back to see if the fawn was gone and it was. The doe had returned and the two of them had walked off.

It's Been Awhile

2011-06-07T01:04:00.000-05:00

It had been more than ten years since I had gotten close to a new born white-tailed deer fawn in the wild. And more than twenty years since I was able to make any photos of one. A few days ago my luck changed and I got to spend some time with the fawn above.

I spotted the small fawn standing with it's mother and went to get my camera. On my approach, the doe ran off and her fawn dropped to the ground and lay there. Being motionless is a young fawn's primary defense.

Just after birth the doe licks her fawn clean and make it as scent free as possible. The fawn then lays in a sheltered location and rests while its mother eats or rests nearby. The doe moves away from the fawn so it doesn't draw the attention of any possible predators.

As I approached the fawn I talked quietly to it and worked quickly to get the photos I desired and limit the stress on the little deer. After I finished photographing the baby white-tail I left, and it was still lying motionless in the grass at the edge of the woods. About twenty minutes later I went back to where the fawn had been laying and it was gone.

What a great evening in northern Wisconsin. This was the second new born fawn I had been close to in about a week and this time I was able to get some pictures. Talk about good luck.

What Luck

2011-06-06T23:44:00.002-05:00

I stopped to photograph wild lupines along a road in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg Wisconsin. I wasn't having much luck with the flowers but noticed that a lot of dragonflies were landing nearby. So I changed lenses and decided to try and photograph the dragonflies instead.

The good news is that I did better with the dragonflies than I had with the flowers. The photo above is of a four-spot skimmer on a lupine flower.

Later in the afternoon shadows fell across the flowers near me and the dragonflies moved about 30 yards away to be in the sun. So I picked up my camera and tripod and walked towards the dragonflies. Just as I got there I heard something moving in the grass and leaf litter. I realized it was a snake and tried to catch it.

The snake looked similar to a garter snake but was much faster than any garter snake I had ever caught. It took some quick action on my part, but I did catch the snake.

I was thrilled when I realized just what I was holding in my hands. I had just caught a ribbon snake, and it was only the second one I had ever seen or caught in Wisconsin. The photo at the top of the page and this one are both of that snake reflected in water.

Ribbon snakes are very cool and very different than the garter snakes they resemble. The first noticeable difference is their speed, they are really fast. They also have a more slender body and a much longer tail. I could see a place about 6 inches from the tip of its tail where the tail could detach if a predator grabbed it. The snake I found had one injured eye (not shown in the photos), but still had all of its tail.

It took some real creativity for me to make any successful photos of this snake and I am really happy with the images I created of this not often seen Wisconsin critter.

What the duck?

2011-05-26T10:46:00.004-05:00

My kids and I went out looking for more gosslings, but found this hen mallard and her family instead.

The ducklings did a great job of staying with their mom as they fed and swam.

The little ducks seemed like cute little fluff balls on the water.

My kids started to get antsy and the sun was in and out, so it was time to go.

The hen watches her little ones as we left.

On our way back to the car a young red-tailed hawk flew just above our heads and alit on a pole nearby.

My son Zach saw it first, just after it flew over our heads.

It was lucky for me that both kids like hawks enough to happily wait a few more minutes as I took these photos. Kids, ducks, and a hawk, another afternoon well spent.

A little slice of Heaven

2011-05-18T11:12:00.008-05:00

This picture of morning fog blanketing the slopes of Divide, White Calf, and Curly Bear Mountain reflected in the calm water of Saint Mary Lake is one of my favorite photos. The image was made on the east side of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.

Speaking of beautiful places in Glacier Park. This is a photo of mature ponderosa pine trees I found just off of the Inside North Fork Road in the northwestern part of the park. I spent quite a bit of time on a warm fall afternoon creating this and a few more photos of these beautiful large trees. While I was there, three small white-tailed bucks walked out and crossed the road within thirty yards of me. It all made for nice memories, good photos, and another beautiful day outside.

Back to Crex Meadows

2011-05-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to make it back to the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg last weekend. I was hoping to find reptiles like bullsnakes, hognose snakes, and prairie skinks. The day started out sunny and I was optimistic.

I finally found this eastern hognose snake crossing a road bordering the wildlife area.

After I pulled safely to the side of the road I picked up the snake and moved it off the road in the direction it was travelling before any other cars came. The above photo shows the snake playing dead once I put it on the ground.

I noticed a small foot sticking out of the snake's mouth while I was moving it. Turns out the snake had just eaten an American toad which it spit out once I set it down.

I was sorry the snake lost its lunch because I moved it, but hoped that my help may have kept it from being run over on the road.

I then followed the snake as it travelled more than 100 yards away from the road off into some scrub oak trees. The snake seemed to draw a straight line as it moved through the terrain, stopping frequently to look around before continuing on.

This hognose snake was the only reptile I found or photographed all day, but I did see a black bear with her cub and lots of muskrats.

Baby Geese

2011-05-18T10:48:00.006-05:00

A beautiful ball of golden fluff. This baby Canada goose is probably a couple of days old.

Another gossling and a beautiful blue sky.

In order to keep the gosslings safe and their parents happy, I usually only spend a minute or two with each baby goose.

This adult Canada goose is a really good parent, telling me to keep my distance while shielding its gosslings. Most geese stay near water while the gosslings are little. At the first sign of possible danger the adult geese lead their babies into the water and out away from shore. The water provides safety from most mammals, but leaves the gosslings open to predation from snapping turtles and large fish.

A Moon in the Hand is Worth.....

2011-05-17T11:40:00.009-05:00

It was a nice night as my sons and I watched sandhill cranes flying in to roost, and listened to the whistling wings of Canada geese flying low over our heads.

As we walked along we noticed a beautiful full moon on the horizon.

I asked the kids if I could take a few photos of them, and found that sometimes perspective is everything.

Here they are with the moon in the middle.

Then the idea finally struck, and some cool photos happened.

How many times can you hold the moon in your hand.

For a few more minutes we screwed around taking advantage of our good fortune.

It's easy to see things the same way most of the time, to get stuck in a rut. So when I found myself in the right place at the right time, with my favorite people, and I was able to see it all differently, I was thrilled. We had fun and ended up with some very cool photos.

Beautiful baby geese.

2011-05-16T12:25:00.003-05:00

It's just the right time of year for gosslings, lots and lots of gosslings. Baby Canada geese really look great as little golden fluff balls, but they quicky grow out of that phase. Once the eggs start hatching it's time to take some photos.

A deft and gentle hand helped to make this photo possible. My sons Josh and Zach played the role of highly experienced goose wranglers.

A beautiful and relaxed gossling.

The gosslings grow so quickly, it is only a matter of days before they are no longer quite so cute and attractive.

Sunny days in May are a great time to be outdoors with my kids, a camera, and beautiful baby geese.

Running free

2011-03-09T13:32:00.007-06:00

A band of wild horses. The stallion on the left snakes his head to nip a mare he's interested in. When I see or spend time with wild horses I get a sense of freedom and wide open places.

Winter Sunset

2010-12-08T11:17:00.003-06:00

I went out to see if I could find anything to photograph just before sunset yesterday. This is what I found.

The light at sunset on a recently frozen Lake Kegonsa. It was 12 degrees, but I'm glad I didn't miss this.

More Tundra Swans

2010-11-30T13:36:00.005-06:00

I was staying with family near Lake Superior over Thanksgiving and my visit happened to coincide with the arrival of tundra swans during their fall migration south.

It was overcast most of the time I was there, but the sun did come out for a couple of hours on two different days. Once we had some good light, my son Zach and I went down by the lake to photograph the swans.

We had a good time watching the birds feeding on plants in the shallow water close to shore, preening, and resting on the ice. There were probably two hundred tundra swans spread out along the edge of the ice for a quarter of a mile.

As I peered through the camera's viewfinder trying to anticipate action and capture some decent images, Zach would watch the larger group of swans and alert me if any were flapping their wings or flying.

"Flapping dad! Over here!" Zach would say, and I'd swing the camera in that direction and do my best to catch what he had seen.

Working as a team we were able to capture the images you see here. Zach got some turns with the camera and the chance to take some photos as well. I really liked listening to the swans as they talked almost incessantly the whole time we were there.

Often, I find myself grateful for the little things in life. Like spending time with one of my sons watching tundra swans along the shore of Lake Superior on a cold November day. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.

Fall Tundra Swans

2010-11-29T03:40:00.017-06:00

Two tundra swans set their wings to land

Every fall tundra swans stop over on the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior during their fall migration.

One swan bites another after landing nearby.

More than one hundred swans were on the bay during

Thanksgiving this year. The birds stop to rest and feed

on aquatic plants in the shallow water along the shoreline.

A swan runs on the water until it gains enough speed to take flight.

I really enjoyed watching and photographing the swans with one of my sons. The birds are beautiful and were fun to listen to as they they fed and interacted with each other.

A swan flaps its wings as others rest on the ice nearby.

The swans stay only until the ice forms far enough out from the shore that they can no longer reach the plants they feed on.

A swan landing near another tundra swan.

Swans set their wings just before landing on the lake.

Once the ice gets too far out in the lake the swans take flight and continue their migration south. Consider yourself lucky if you happen to be near the Chequamegon Bay when the tundra swans show up in the fall, and have a great time watching these beautiful birds.

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Wisconsin

2010-10-12T16:31:00.005-05:00

Rainbows over a refuge road.

A male northern prairie skink.

A brown thrasher on its nest.

A singing red winged blackbird.

After the storm, clouds at sunset.

Rainbows over Phantom Lake.

A red fox kit.

An American bittern.

A red fox kit at its den.

A thirteen-lined ground squirrel.

Trumpeter swans.

A red fox with food for its kits.

An eastern king bird.

A bullsnake's face.

A bullsnake.

Sandhill cranes take flight.

In May I visited the Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge located near Grantsburg Wisconsin for the first time. It turns out that Crex Meadows has a lot to offer nature photographers. In just a few days I was able to locate and photograph trumpeter swans, northern prairie skinks, bullsnakes, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, red fox, and many other mammals and birds.

I was surprised by the variety of species making their home on the refuge. I also saw coyotes and wolves, but wasn't able to photograph them.

Crex Meadows is a wonderful place and one of the largest wildlife refuges in Wisconsin. While I was there I stopped in the visitor center and found the people to be incredibly kind and helpful. The refuge roads are in good shape, well layed out, and often close to water.

If you get the chance, Crex Meadows is a great place to visit. There is a lot to see and do there, and it was surprisingly uncrowded. I can't wait to go back.

Fall elk in Wisconsin

2010-10-11T11:57:00.021-05:00

A medium sized bull elk pauses before crossing the road.

I didn't expect to get the chance to photograph Wisconsin elk this fall, so I was happily surprised to find myself in Clam Lake for part of three days last week.

The fall color was already past peak as seen in these morning reflections.

A spike bull browses at the edge of the forest.

A family of wild turkeys heads for the woods after feeding near the roadside.

A bull elk walks across highway 77 on an October morning.

Golden oak leaves are back lit in a forest opening.

An immature red-tailed hawk watches for a possible meal from its perch.

The weather was warm and clear. It got as hot as 85 degrees one of the days I was there. I saw only eleven elk, five bulls and six cows and calves. I also saw several bald eagles, a few red-tailed hawks, and a coyote.

Photographing elk in Wisconsin is nothing like it is out west. There are only about 180 animals in the state and they behave very differently than their western counterparts. The Wisconsin elk seem content to hide out in the sheltering forests of the Clam Lake area. They have all of the food and water they need right there in the woods and don't seem to seek out meadows or other openings to gather harems in the fall.

In Wisconsin it seems to be a matter of catching the elk grazing along the roadside or in the act of crossing the road in order to get decent photos of them. Even so, with some patience, persistence, and a little luck Wisconsin elk can be fun.

A Grizzly Bear and her cubs are in the news....

2010-07-31T00:44:00.006-05:00

This sow grizzly with her two cubs of the year are getting some press. You can get the rest of the story at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1294860/Just-grin-bear-Mother-tries-teach-cubs-cross-mountain-stream.html

My photos and story about these Yellowstone grizzlies have been featured in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

Tundra swans and other signs of spring...

2010-04-08T22:29:00.005-05:00

My parents have lived near the Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior for several years now and every spring and fall my dad calls to tell me when the swans are there. Sometimes up to several hundred tundra swans will stop in and spend a few days or weeks laying over on the bay during their migration. This year I lucked out. Two days before my kids and I were planning to go up north for Easter my dad called to tell me the swans were there.

So along with everything else, I packed my camera and hoped that I might have happy kids, a little extra time, some good light, and swans on the lake while we were there. I did and here's some of what I saw.

The day we arrived it was sunny and in the 60's with no ice on Chequamegon Bay. The next morning the wind had switched and was from the north. The temperature dropped to around 40 degrees and pushed ice back into the bay. Here an adult and juvenile tundra swan run on the ice as they take flight.

Immature tundra swans are a grayish color and not all white like the adults. This immature swan is taking flight.

A group of tundra swans sit in an opening in the ice.

I put on chest waders and ventured into the lake in order to get these images. At times the wind was moving large rafts of ice right against the legs of my tripod. I'd stand to that side and use my legs to break up the sheets of ice before they could knock the camera over.

The whole experience was a bit surreal. I was wearing waders and standing in an ice bath with ice breaking against my legs and moving past me giving the impression that I was in fact moving and not stationary. The whole time swans were talking amongst themselves, making beautiful sounds that I can't well describe for you here.

The next evening was sunny and much warmer and I went down to the lake for about an hour near sunset. The swans weren't nearly as tolerant as the day before in the ice, but I did capture a few images.

After the swans left I found this snow bunting moving in stops and starts among the cattails in the marsh.

A few Canada geese were standing on the sand flats along the edge of the Bay. I hope your Easter was as good as mine. Jerry

Some of the beauty of Yellowstone Park

2009-11-19T01:48:00.002-06:00

Geothermal features such as this hot spring on the bank of the Gibbon River are called chocolate pots.

White Dome Geyser erupts pretty frequently allowing for lots of chances to get photos like this one.

Roaring Mountain no longer makes the loud noises for which it was named, but it's still a cool feature in Yellowstone Park.

If you hike up Electric Peak in the northern part of the park this is the view you will get looking east. The little lake is Cache Lake, Sepulcher Mountain is behind it, and Bunsen Peak is in the distance.

This is Canary Spring at Mammoth Hot Springs. This photo was taken several years ago and the spring looks different now due to changing water flows, temperatures, and other variables. One of the very cool things about Yellowstone is that it is always changing, it's never the same.

Fall is a beautiful time to see the park. Here huge columns of steam rise from Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring with the Firehole River in the foreground.

Winter in Yellowstone can be very cold and very beautiful too. Clouds drift above snow covered hills in the Lamar Valley.

Loons

2009-11-19T01:26:00.000-06:00

An adult common loon with its fluffy chick at its side on a northern Wisconsin lake.

The adult loon has caught an appropriately small fish and is offering it to the young loon.

Another loon had just flown over the lake and this loon was taking its chicks to a sheltered spot among some reeds to hide.

I never get enough of the striking patterns in the loons feathers.

This loon is on its side to better reach some feathers for preening.

I feel lucky whenever I hear loons calling and have been very lucky to get to spend time up close photographing these fantastic birds.

Please look at more of my photos at pbase.com/jmercier.

See more of my photos at pbase.com/jmercier

2009-11-19T01:12:00.001-06:00

I've started to put a bunch more photos up at pbase.com/jmercier. So if you like what you've seen on this blog and would like to see more please check it out. I photographed this bull moose in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

This is Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.

This bull bison is bellowing with his tongue out while standing in a black-tailed prairie dog town in western North Dakota.

More ducks and geese

2009-11-12T20:11:00.000-06:00

Mallard drake coming in for a landing.

Beautiful mallard drake in the last light before sunset.

Canada geese set to land on a pond.

Ducks and geese

2009-11-12T00:05:00.002-06:00

A mallard drake on still waters.

A hen mallard in great afternoon light.

Reflections make it fun taking pictures like these.

Another hen mallard on the way over.

I love the irredescent green color of the feathers on this drake mallard's head.

Can't get enough of the still water and blue sky reflections.

A coot stretching in morning light.

The last light of the day finds this canada goose sitting on a small pond.

Great blue heron with a fish

2009-11-11T15:04:00.012-06:00

A great blue heron with a pan fish it caught this morning. I watched the heron stand motionlessly for more than an hour at the edge of a small pond before it thrust its beak into the water and came out with this fish. Watching this great blue heron fish was a great lesson in how infinite patience pays off.

The same heron biding its time before catching the fish.

Fall adventure

2009-11-06T12:58:00.011-06:00

I found these snow covered tamarack trees while I was out looking for elk in October. All of these photos are of cool things I saw near Clam Lake Wisconsin this fall.

Good news, I found several elk including these two cows and a calf. Both cows are wearing radio collars as part of the DNR's effort to keep track of the Clam lake elk herd.

A beautiful afternoon at Day Lake.

These leaves have fallen into the water close to shore.

The wind and rain knocked the leaves off the trees pretty quickly this year. Here's a little fall color before it disappeared.

I was pleased to get a few photos before this ruffed grouse flew off.

Fall in Wisconsin it is all about the great colors, isn't it.

Another view of the tamarack trees and bog. I really like the snow on this scene and it was only there a short while. The sun melted it all within an hour.

This hungry bull elk is soaking wet from the snow melting off of the trees in the forest.

Big clouds over Day Lake.

Fallen leaves on a large boulder in the woods.

This bull is standing in a logging clear cut and staying close to an adult cow elk not pictured.

A gorgeous red pine tree in the last afternoon light.

In my experience the time I spend outside in nature is time well spent. Even when I don't find what I'm looking for there are always other beautiful and interesting things.

Ruffed grouse

2009-11-04T19:05:00.001-06:00

I got lucky when I was out looking for elk near Clam Lake Wisconsin and photographed three different ruffed grouse.

I found this grouse sitting on the fresh snow in beautiful morning light.

I would have never noticed this grouse perched in the tree if it hadn't flown across the road in front of my car. I love ruffed grouse and the great colors and patterns of their feathers. With or without elk, my day was a huge success having found these birds.

Fall elk

2009-10-24T22:39:00.004-05:00

A beautiful bull elk a few miles from Clam Lake Wisconsin.

This small bull elk is checking behind it as another bull bugles in the distance.

I located this elk calf and cow wearing a radio collar near the edge of a logging clear cut. I found them here twice over the course of three days.

This bull elk was staying near the cow and calf.

This is another photo of the best bull I was able to photograph this fall. The bull came out near the road to gather one of the cows from his harem. The cow had walked across the highway to the other side. The bull came up to the edge of the road and waited until the cow came back to his side and rejoined four other cows in his harem.

Here's a glimpse of a little fall color seen from one of the forest roads near Clam Lake. I made several trips to the area to see, hear, and photograph elk during the rut with some success.

I learned that Wisconsin elk have very different habits than the elk in Wyoming and Alberta. Out west the elk seem to gravitate towards open meadows during the fall rut. The Wisconsin elk seem quite content to stay in the woods and it wasn't easy to find them out in the open during daylight hours.

It may be that there are so few elk in the area (only 140 or so) that the entire rut dynamic is differerent. The bull I found with the collared cow and calf seemed quite content to quietly wait nearby for the cow to come into estrus. He never bugled and didn't seem to want to draw any attention to himself. I'm not sure if that is normal operating procedure for these Wisconsin bulls or if this bull was mute due to his relatively small size. Either way, it was lots of fun spending time with wild elk in Wisconsin during the rut.

Copper Falls State Park

2009-10-19T19:41:00.031-05:00

On a beautiful October morning I drove into Copper Falls State Park near Mellen Wisconsin. I was lucky to be there on a sunny day with plenty of fall color.

I found this white-tailed deer doe standing in the woods along the park road. I parked near a picnic area and playground at the end of the road and walked along a trail covered with pine needles.

The trail offers this view of the Tyler Forks River joining the Bad River.

The woods looked and smelled great as spots of sun reached the forest floor.

The park trail leads from one beautiful view to the next. Here is a photo of the Tyler Forks River Cascades.

These rocks and pine roots are up above the Tyler Forks River.

This is the view from the brink of Brownstone Falls. Just downstream the Tyler Forks River enters into and becomes part of the Bad River.

Some large white pine trees line the trail while a fence keeps people from venturing down towards the river gorge.

I love the look of the light on the bark of this white pine tree. Copper Falls State Park has a nice mix of coniferous and deciduous trees. There are lots of larger red and white pine trees along with some cedars, maples, and oaks.

Here's a view of Brownstone Falls from the other side. I lucked out and had a lot of water going over the waterfalls while I was there. Usually water levels are low in the fall and waterfalls are just a shadow of their springtime selves. It had rained almost the whole day before I arrived so I had lots of water.

Above is a photo of the parks namesake, Copper Falls. The Bad River looks kind of like foamy root beer as it flows over Copper Falls.

If you get the chance to visit Copper Falls State Park, the waterfalls are pretty, the forest is beautiful, and there is a lot to see.

A colorful perch

2009-10-10T17:02:00.011-05:00

Driving in northern Wisconsin on a beautiful September day I saw this hawk alight on a branch. In the past I haven't had the best luck photographing hawks from the road in Wisconsin. Most of the time they fly off before I get any good photos, but I keep trying. So I turned around, got the camera ready, pulled to the side of the road, turned the car off, and took this photo.

This particular juvenile red-tailed hawk didn't seem to mind me at all. It attentively watched the ground below its perch as I photographed it from my car. It was so comfortable that I was able to change to a larger lens and make the photos above and below.

I really like the look of the changing maple leaves behind the hawk. If I learned anything here it's no matter how many times I have tried something and failed, it's important to keep trying. On any given day for no reason at all things may work out.

Dinner

2009-10-02T12:35:00.010-05:00

A hungry coyote licks its lips as it trots through a black-tailed prairie dog town in western North Dakota.

Prairie dogs stand near their burrow entrances and bark alarm calls so every prairie dog knows danger is near.

The coyote can see and smell dinner everywhere, but the element of surprise is gone. It continues at a moderate pace acting disinterested in all of the towns residents. The coyote did a wonderful job of acting as if it was just passing through and nothing to worry about.

One prairie dog stayed above ground at a burrow entrance as the coyote neared to within three feet. In a flash the coyote faked a step away from the prairie dog and then quickly dove back towards it, grabbing the prairie dog by the head and neck.

The coyote carried the prairie dog away from nearby burrow entrances before stopping to eat.

The coyote began to eat.

In just a few minutes the coyote was done and walked off. I was really impressed with the hunting tactics used by the coyote to catch the prairie dog. Up until the coyote faked the move one way and snatched the prairie dog, everything about its body language and demeanor said just passing through, nothing to worry about. Good work to get dinner.

Just for fun

2009-09-21T20:15:00.005-05:00

I have made thousands of photos of common loons over the years and this is my favorite.

The red eye and the striking combination of white and black, along with the almost surreal quality of the green water make this one of my favorite wildlife photos.

The reflection of green coniferous trees along the shoreline gives the water its beautiful green color. The loon's own striking coloration and patterns do the rest.

I would like to thank Ben and Margaret for inviting me to their place on a northern Wisconsin lake and Ben for his good nature and patience during the early mornings we spent on his boat. This image wouldn't exist if it weren't for their generosity and kindness.

What a rabbit

2009-08-23T17:42:00.016-05:00

So I'm out in western North Dakota looking for cool rock formations to photograph when the light gets better. I found this caprock formation and was looking around for good angles for photos.

Here's the same formation from the other side.

A little ways off I can see these rocks and I keep looking for critters as I scout the landscape.

Lucky enough, I find a rabbit sitting on one of the eroded hills.

Often in my experience rabbits take off running as soon as they are approached. Well, not this one. This desert cottontail rabbit proceeded to lay down and stretch out with me just ten feet away.

Since this rabbit seemed relaxed, I went back to my vehicle and got some longer camera lenses to take photos. By the time I got back the rabbit was sitting up but didn't seem at all concerned by my presence.

The bunny proceeded to clean its paws.

To clean its belly.

And clean its paws some more.

I stayed with the rabbit for at least half an hour and took all of the photos I wanted. When I had enough I gathered my gear and walked away. The rabbit was still right where I had found him.

It feels good to me when the animals that I photograph don't move away or stop doing what they were doing while I am there.

In a flash

2009-08-22T16:33:00.013-05:00

A bald eagle snatches a small fish from a northern Wisconsin lake.

The eagle was wearing metal bands on both legs from the Wisconsin DNR.

It grasped the fish tightly in one talon as it flew off.

The eagle didn't fly far before it landed on the lake shore and ate the fish. This bird was known to frequent the lake and would watch fisherman closely looking for any injured fish they released. It seemed pretty tolerant and allowed me to get close enough to take the last photo before flying off.

Wild Wisconsin Elk!

2009-05-13T22:49:00.018-05:00

This beautiful wild bull elk wearing a radio collar is part of the Clam Lake elk herd located in the Chequamegon - Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Historically elk were found throughout the state of Wisconsin, but by the turn of the twentieth century they had been completely extirpated due to over hunting. After an absence of almost 100 years in 1995 25 elk were reintroduced to the Wisconsin wilds.

This original herd of 25 elk has now grown to an estimated 144 animals and that is not counting the soon to be born calves of this year. All and all it's quite a success story and great to have elk back in Wisconsin.

Two bull elk in April of 2009.

Although this small bull elk was photographed in late April it had yet to drop it's antlers.

The young bull didn't seem the least bit camera shy.

It is important for motorists to pay attention while driving in the Clam Lake area. Street signs with yellow caution lights have been placed along several miles of highway 77 to warn drivers and protect the elk.

Over the years I have enjoyed photographing elk many times in the western United States and Canada, but it sure is nice to be able to spend time with these magnificent animals right here in Wisconsin.

If you have the chance to go to the Clam Lake area I hope that you see some Wisconsin elk. As with all wildlife viewing, there are no guarantees, but I've seen elk about 33% of the time this year. If you go, good luck and enjoy the elk.

River otters on Lake Superior

2009-04-24T13:08:00.035-05:00

In early April my dad, brother, his kids, and I were driving along the shore of Lake Superior on the way to a nearby trout stream. I was looking out at the lake and spotted a long dark critter on the ice near the shore. My brother saw it at the same time. We turned around and drove back to find this northern river otter with a dead fish pulled up onto the ice.

I hadn't brought my camera with me and asked my dad to take me back for it. After I got the camera I drove back to where the otter had been. Everyone else went fishing. I pulled over to the side of the road and shot a few photos from inside the car. Another car stopped behind me and the driver walked up to see the otter and wanted to visit. When the driver walked up, the otter got off of the ice, pulled the fish into the water and swam off.

I couldn't see where the otter put the fish, but it was too big for him to move it far. I was disappointed that the otter left but thought he'd come back to eat. I moved my car further away from where the otter had been, took my camera and tripod and walked down along the lake shore. I found a good spot tucked back among some rocks with tree branches in front of me. I sat on the sand, pulled my hat over my ears and my jacket tight around me as a stiff breeze came in off the lake. Then I waited.

After about 10 minutes I could see the otter popping its head up from a crack in the ice about 50 yards away. A little while later it swam to where I last saw the fish and got up onto the ice.

Here is the otter with the fish which turned out to be a large carp.

The northern river otter is eating part of the carp.

After eating for awhile the otter pulled the fish back into the water and stood on the snow.

The otter didn't seem to mind me sitting about 50 feet away.

Once the otter left, this herring gull came to clean up the scraps.

After swimming in the lake for about twenty minutes the otter came back to where it had left the carp.

The otter had all it could handle pulling the large fish back up onto the ice.

I watched as the otter braced itself and tugged the fish up out of the water.

The fish seemed like a tremendous feast.

The river otter spent the next half an hour eating its fill. Gulls flew over and sat on the ice nearby. When the otter was done eating it again pulled the fish off the ice and lodged it underneath so the birds could not get at it.

The otter shakes off after swimming in the lake.

The otter is up on the ice near some old dock pilings.

The otter spent time cleaning its paws and fur and rolling on its back.

Finally the otter stood up to its full height, looked around and then swam off. In all I spent more than 3 hours photographing the river otter. During the time that I was there I could see three adult bald eagles out on the ice a few hundred yards away, but they never tried to steal the fish nor did they fly very close to the otter.

Why did the bison cross the river?

2009-03-26T23:34:00.017-05:00

To get to the other side.

Every April and May in Yellowstone National Park bison cows give birth to beautiful red orange calves. Bison calves are quite hardy and able to stand up to nurse within minutes and walk an hour or two after being born. Until they are a couple of months old it is important for baby bison to stay close to their mothers and the rest of the herd. Young calves may become an easy meal for Grizzly bears, black bears, and wolves until they are strong and fast enough to get away.

American bison are always on the move and Yellowstone has many rivers coursing through its more than two million acres. When a herd of bison come to a river they need to cross, young calves stay right at their mother's side and across they go..

Three bison cows and two new calves walk across a shallow part of the Madison River.

You can see here the water is now much deeper and the first cow and calf must swim.

There were a lot of grunts and other vocalizations going on between the cows and calves during the crossing.

This cow is using her nose to nudge her tired calf up onto the bank after swimming across the river.

Here another cow and calf pull themselves out of the water and onto the riverbank.

This cow is soaking wet as the calf uses its front hooves to climb up on the bank.

After the successful crossing the cow and calf walk off to rejoin their herd.

All of the calves safely made it across the river. Though one calf did get caught in the current and washed downstream about 100 yards from the rest of the herd, That calf plaintively called for its mother once it made it to shore, then ran and rejoined the herd. The cows and calves were grunting and vocalizing a lot during the crossing and I can only imagine the cows were encouraging their young to keep going until they reached shore.

I always feel lucky when I see large mammals in the water and being able to watch a herd of bison with new calves swim across the Madison River was big fun.

Home on the Range

2009-02-05T22:15:00.004-06:00

I left Wisconsin on a trip out to Yellowstone awhile ago. I drove through the night and was somewhere in North Dakota as the sun came up. I pulled off the highway to take a few photos of the beautiful sky at sunrise. It was a chilly October morning, but it felt good to be out of the car, good to be outside. After photographing this scene and driving away I noticed the sign at the freeway exit. Home on the Range.

It was a good place to be.

Yelllowstone book!

2009-01-07T14:19:00.008-06:00

Sunrise through the steam at West Thumb Geyser Basin on the shore of Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone Park.

Hey everyone,
I put together and self published a 80 page softcover book with photos of Yellowstone Park called Only Yellowstone. If you're interested you can click on the badge on the right side of this page that says 'Yellowstone book'. It will direct you to the Blurb book website where you can preview the book and purchase it if you're so inclined. Or take a look at the book preview right here.

Only Yellowstone by Jerry Mercier

Make Your Own Book

Thanks a lot and I hope to get some new postings up very soon.
Jerry

Fall elk

2008-12-11T10:52:00.036-06:00

Fall in Yellowstone Park means rutting bull elk. It's mating season and the time when large bulls gather groups of cows called harems. The bulls watch over their harems in order to mate with the cows as they come into estrus.

Mature bull elk use a tremendous amount of energy participating in the rut each fall. Bulls will chase and collect cows in order to establish harems and then chase the cows some more in order to keep the harems together. Bull elk must remain vigilant in order to keep other bulls from stealing or mating with their cows.

During the rut bull elk will often vocalize, or bugle to announce their size, strength, and status.

This herd bull has spotted another mature bull and is bugling to make his presence known.

If two bulls are evenly matched in antler and body size a fight may occur. Here the herd bull leads a rival away from his harem and into an open meadow.

The two bulls posture to show each other their antler size and demonstrate their physical condition.

Here the bull on the left feigns an attack, acting as if he may jab the other bull with his antlers.

Testosterone levels are very high and the tension is palpable, yet neither bull wants to fight if it can be avoided. It's better to win through intimidation than risk serious injury in battle.

In this case neither bull backed down and a brief fight ensued. The fight lasted less than a minute before the former herd bull was vanquished and chased off.

After his victory the new herd bull bugled to let all of the cows and any potential rivals know that he was now in charge.

Every year in the Rocky Mountains during September and October countless dramas such as this play out. If you ever get the chance to go out and see and hear it for yourself you will never forget it.

Tough meal for a grizzly

2008-12-10T12:41:00.030-06:00

Every spring in Yellowstone park grizzly bears awaken from hibernation and leave their dens feeling very hungry. While the bears were sleeping other animals like bison and elk were awake and doing their best to sustain themselves throughout the harsh winter.

Each winter many elk and bison don't make it and die for various reasons. Some of them fall through the ice while attempting to cross frozen rivers and lakes. The carcasses of these winter casualties then serve as an important food source for the bears each spring.

This grizzly bear has located a bison carcass in the middle of the Yellowstone River near LeHardy Rapids. I saw the bear from my car and stopped to photograph it. When I pulled up to the established parking area there was already a park ranger at the scene. I took my camera and found a good vantage point among the tourists watching the bear.

Here the bear is shaking off as it climbs onto the whitened carcass.

Although the bear is equipped with sharp claws and powerful jaws it still had great difficulty penetrating the dead bison's hide

Every so often the bear would stop and take stock of the growing crowd of people watching it.

The carcass seemed to be lodged on some rocks and the bear showed good balance as it was able to stay on while it bobbed in the current.

Again the bear surveys the crowd watching from the nearby shoreline.

Eventually the bear was able to use its teeth to make a hole in the thick hide and get a little to eat.

After awhile the grizzly stopped attempting to feed. I think it had had enough of people watching it.

With that the bear got off the carcass, swam to the opposite shore, and walked up into the forest.

A day or two later just after dawn I watched a grizzly bear again out on this carcass. it was too dark for photos so I watched from my car with the windows down. There were no other people around and I couldn't tell if it was the same bear or not.

Apparently the carcass still wasn't open enough for the bear to feed easily. The bear worked at the carcass while standing in the water and on top of it. After the bear pushed, bit and ripped at the carcass, it broke free from the rocks it had been lodged on. The carcass and the grizzly bear then started to float downstream.

With the windows open I could hear as the bear made what I thought were frustrated and unhappy sounds as it held onto its meal while being dragged along with the current. After going a short distance the carcass again got caught in some rocks and the bear left it and swam to the opposite shore. The grizzly then walked into the trees and I could no longer see it.

With that I left to go and photograph some locations that the sun had already reached. I returned later after the sun was high enough to light that stretch of river and found only the carcass, but no bear.

Grizzly bear school

2008-12-02T19:17:00.044-06:00

One beautiful May morning in Yellowstone park I happened upon a sow grizzly and her two little cubs at a small creek.

At first the mother bear was on one side and her cubs were on the other. All three bears were vocalizing a lot. The sow was calling for the cubs to come to her, but they loudly protested and stayed where they were.

The sow grizzly then jumped the creek and joined her cubs.

After briefly encouraging them to follow her she jumped back across to demonstrate what she wanted from them.

The cubs stayed put and called to their mother while she continued to call to them from the opposite bank.

I watched the mother bear jump back and forth across the creek two more times before she changed the plan.

Her cubs were just a month or two out of the den and not willing to get into the water just yet. The swimming lessons would have to wait for another time. The mother grizzly stayed on the cubs' side of the creek and led them around the water and off into the distance.

Many of the strategies that bears use for getting food and surviving in the wild are learned behaviors that mother bears teach their cubs.

Mount Rundle in Banff National Park

2008-08-06T18:03:00.057-05:00

Mount Rundle is probably the most photographed mountain in Banff National Park. It's beautiful and easy to get to. There is a paved road near the town of Banff which leads to the Vermillion Lakes and wonderful views of the mountain.

The following photos of Mount Rundle were created over the course of several years. Depending on factors such as; cloudiness, time of day, wind, weather, and season the mountain appears very different. That's one of the best things about photographing nature, no matter how many times I photograph the same location it is never the same.

The only thing constant is change.

Fall reflections from the Third Vermillion Lake.

Last light on clouds at the summit of Mount Rundle.

Cloudy afternoon reflections.

- 28 degrees Fahrenheit, a cold winter sunset.

A stormy evening from the Third Vermillion Lake.

Old Faithful & the Upper Geyser Basin

2008-07-18T09:28:00.054-05:00

Yellowstone National Park has more geysers than anyplace else in the world. Along with the geysers there are hot springs, heated pools, mud pots, steam vents, and fumaroles. All of the geothermal activity makes Yellowstone a very unique place to visit and a wonderful place to explore.

Located in the Upper Geyser Basin, Old Faithful is the most well known geyser in Yellowstone Park and erupts to a height of over 100 feet every 30 to 120 minutes. Its fame not withstanding, Old Faithful is just one of many beautiful geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin. Castle, Riverside, Grotto, Giant, and Grand Geysers are all located there as well.

The area around Old Faithful is one of the most developed in Yellowstone National Park. Old Faithful Lodge, Snow Lodge, several parking lots, stores, a visitor center, and a gas station are all located near the geyser. Other geyser basins in the park are much less built up and often less crowded.

Whether you'd prefer someplace less developed or not, take the time to walk the boardwalks of the Upper Geyser Basin. Make sure to see Old Faithful erupt and don't leave early. The visitor center posts estimated eruption times for several other nearby geysers. Make a game of it and see how many different geysers you can see erupting.

Yellowstone became the worlds first national park because of the amazing geothermal features located there. More than 135 years after the park was founded the geysers are no less amazing and shouldn't be missed. The sound of steam and super heated water shooting into the air, the colors of the heated pools, the intricate shapes of geyser cones and terraces, and the smell of sulfurous gasses are unforgettable. While visiting Yellowstone make sure to explore the geyser basins, you'll be glad you did.

NP3449- Castle Geyser during the steam phase of an eruption.

NP3020- Riverside Geyser erupts, shooting water over the Firehole River.

NP2993- Grotto Geyser erupting

NP3460- Steam rises from Giant Geyser. Giant Geyser erupts infrequently to heights of 150-250 feet.

NP3478- Grand Geyser erupting to heights of 200 feet.

NP4720- Old Faithful erupting on a beautiful fall morning.