Monarch Butterfly Fall Migration

Video:  Monarch Butterfly Fall Migration

Video:  Monarch Butterfly Fall Migration

Monarch Butterflies heading south on their Fall migration pass through the vast forested Great Smoky Mountains looking for isolated meadows with wildflowers to refuel. It is getting late for this area as most wildflowers at higher elevations are dead, but I managed to spot three in an hour on October 12th. Monarch Butterflies are under considerable environmental pressure and in danger of disappearing. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a Monarch banding program. More information at the links below:
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/migration/index.shtml
http://www.gsmit.org/CSMonarchTagging.html

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Elk Versus Photographer Great Smoky Mountains National Park !

Elk Versus Photographer Great Smoky Mountains National Park

An encounter between a young spike male elk (one really can't call him a "bull elk") went viral this week. The young elk took an unusual interest in a photographer at Cataloochie Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and appeared to be playfully sparring with the man who kept his head down early in the encounter. This intrigues me because I am very familiar with the elk in the GSMNP and have filmed them often and never seen any act like this unless people tried to approach or otherwise act threatening. Indeed, as the video below shows you can be quiet and low-profile and get exceptional video of the elk going about their business. A video playlist of some of my encounters can be seen here. Huge bull elks such as this 800 pounder I filmed below could kill you in a heartbeat if provoked.

Video: This Huge and Majestic Bull Elk would not play games!

Sadly the elk was killed by the park service after this event. I had many questions about the encounter - and it turns out this young elk had been causing some problems before and that people had been feeding it Doritos and chips etc., probably starting when it was still a calf. This is very unfortunate, and of course against the law and violation comes with a steep fine. But people will be idiots and feed the wildlife and the odds of being caught are low. I do not know how aggressive the rangers are at enforcement, but I do know that budget cuts have thinned their ranks. Cataloochie in particular is unfortunately set up for this kind of animal abuse because it is so accessible to people just passing through. The classic conundrum of the popular national park, how to somehow preserve wild nature while making it safe and easy for people to experience. The reality is most people never get more than 100 yards from the car at any time when they visit the park.  

Clearly conditioning this young elk to expect a salty treat when people stand by the road is the root cause of this viral encounter. The photographer's actions can always be second guessed - he had an opportunity at the 2:42 mark in the video to just walk/run away as it appeared the elk was losing interest. Instead, he turned back around and that seemed to escalate the encounter leading to the head-butting. But he didn't have the advantage of our after-the-fact viewpoint. It really boils down to a fascinating, but sad convergence of an elk who had been fed against the law and a photographer who loves wildlife trying to get a good shot. The underlying message of this video should not be lost - and that is feeding large mammals like elk and bears results in endangerment of the public and, sadly, almost always is a death sentence for the animal.

An opportunity to just walk away early on?

Video: An extended session with a big bull Elk

Video: Elk peacefully napping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Elk Nap Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Video: Elk Nap Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Elk Nap Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A mellow clip of four elk (a mother and her three calves) I watched taking a nap in the Great Smoky Mountains this past October. What strikes me most about this session was the utter silence except for the slight rustling caused by the wind. It's so rare to have silence these days even in the national parks.

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An Elk's Opinion on the U.S. Government Shutdown of National Parks

This young Elk behind a road closed gate at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers up its own opinion of the U.S. Government Shutdown.

Video of "shutdown" Elk

National Parks Remain Closes due to U. S. Government Shutdown!

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U. S. Government Shutdown 2013 Closes All National Parks

Video: U.S. Government Shutdown Closes All National Parks

Sequestration closed some areas and services at the U.S. National Parks and the current government-wide shutdown has now closed all national parks and their web sites. October is peak season for nature and outdoor enthusiasts and tourists enjoying the changing season. Your best bet is to "Google" for the latest status updates as Government webpages are down!

The GSMNP is now closed - the main public highway through it remains open.

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Blue Ridge Parkway is open but most concessions and staffed points of interest are closed.

Can't go there?

Mother Elk and Calf

Video: Mother Elk and Calf - Great Smoky Mountains

Video: Mother Elk and Calf - Great Smoky Mountains

Gentle and relaxing scenes of an Elk Calf with its Mother in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.

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Cute Elk Calf Having Breakfast in the Great Smoky Mountains

Video: Elk Calf Enjoying Breakfast

Cute Elk Calf Enjoying Breakfast in the Great Smoky Mountains

We were fortunate to spend some quality time with a mother Elk and her three calves one morning earlier this week. I focused on one of three Elk calves enjoying breakfast. Remote roadside forage next to heavy forest cover is one of their favorite hangouts. Sequestration and the closure of the prime Elk area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has led to much less "people pressure" on the animal life, making for excellent viewing.

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Majestic Bull Elk and Family Great Smoky Mountains

Video: Majestic Bull Elk and Family

Bull Elk Great Smoky Mountains

Beautiful Bull Elk, mother and calf near a closed area of the remote part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "Sequestration", and few if any people has probably resulted in some unique viewing opportunities. Not sure if this is the full extent of his family. As big as he is he is still not the top dog in these parts! Filmed in a steady rain. 

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Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Totally Enjoying a Summer Shower

Video: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird enjoying the rain

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in the rain

This male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is having too much fun in the rain! The more I observe hummingbirds away from the feeder the more I appreciate their personalities and natural behavior. The nectar feeder is just a very small part of their daily activities and food.

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Relaxing Nature Meditation - Summer Mountain Thunderstorm

Video: Summer Mountain Thunderstorm

Relaxing Nature Meditation - Summer Mountain Thunderstorm

Relax to the sounds and sights of a passing July thunderstorm in the Great Smoky Mountains. Rain...Thunder...Wind and bird calls as the weather begins to clear and the mountains reappear from behind the clouds. As the rain tapers off to a drizzle the dominant sound will be a rain-swollen fresh mountain stream below. Not the call of the Eastern Towhee and Carolina Chickadee.

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Giant Standing Groundhog Eats an Apple

Video: One Large Groundhog polishes off an apple!

One Large Groundhog!

A Huge Groundhog aka Woodchuck near Great Smoky Mountain National Park taking advantage of a trimmed apple tree by eating one apple after another off the ground. Believe it or not this giant fellow can climb fruit trees and climb out on branches to grab apples and peaches. At the very large end of the spectrum of Groundhog sizes this fellow stands two feet tall and looks a lot like a miniature bear.

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Parts of Great Smoky Mountains National Park To Remain Closed for 2013 Due To "Sequestration"

Heintooga Road and Balsam Mountain Areas among others remains closed For 2013

Magnificent Bull Elk in closed area of GSMNP (2012).

Young Wild Turkeys along Heintooga Road (2012)

The Heintooga Ridge Road, Balsam Mountain area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will remain closed for the 2013 season due to the 5% budget cut imposed on the National Park Service as a result of the ongoing sequestration. A recent news story covers the other areas of the park that are closed as well. There is plenty of blame to go all around, but its a shame that one of the areas of the GSMNP where visitors can go to view wildlife especially elk, wild turkey and bears in a natural setting and have a real nature experience is closed! This is my favorite area of the park because, sorry, I don't want to go to a park and see crowds of people. Over 3 million people visit the park each year, the most visited in the Nation, and probably about 90% of them never stray more than a few hundred yards from the main road through the park  - so if the Park Service were going to make cuts that impact the fewest people it follows that the remote, less-used  areas would be closed first. Whether such closures are really necessary at all is another story. Let's just hope that this budget situation gets straightened out for Fiscal Year 2014!

Magnificent Bull Elk in closed area of GSMNP.

Young Wild Turkeys along Heintooga Road