Oct 2009
The Moose is on the loose!
Oct//2009
For some reason and I’m not sure why, all of the places I’ve visited in New England (and Canada) I have somehow managed not to see a single moose. I’ve seen moose tracks and even moose droppings, lucky me. Well, all that changed last weekend when after many years of speaking with fellow photographers and good friends Andy Provost and Mike McGrath we planned a trip to Baxter State Park in Maine. Mike has been going to Baxter to photograph moose for over 30 years and Andy for over 20 years! If anyone knows where to find a moose it’s the tag team of Andy and Mike, these guys know the drill.
Baxter State Park current size is 204,733 acres and was a gift to the state of Maine by Governor Percival Baxter in 1931. The highest mountain inside the park is Baxter Peak at 5,267 feet.
I would drive up with long time friend and fellow hawk watcher Steve Anderson and a new friend and wildlife photographer Dr. Karl Zuzarte. We departed very early Friday morning October 9, at 5:30 AM and made the 5.5 hour trip arriving at 11:00 AM. Andy and Mike had departed the night before and were already in the park waiting for us. There was no cell services or so we thought. Turns out Karl was somehow able to get reception on his I-phone. The weather seemed to be in our favor on the way up however as luck would have it by the time we arrived it started to change for the worse. Overcast conditions soon changed to a light mist then some rain, not exactly what we wanted for photography. However we made stops at many of the ponds looking for the elusive “life” moose for me. Around 2:00 PM we made a turn towards Daicey Pond and on the left side in a marsh right next to the road was female moose enjoying the afternoon feeding in the water. As we exited the vehicle Karl and I grabbed our cameras and much to our delight this moose cared less that we were standing no more then 40 feet from her as we clicked away, frame after frame. I HAD A LIFE MOOSE! Better yet I was able to photograph the first moose I had even seen. As a wildlife photographer we like to say “it only takes one” and lucky for us we had our moose. Within ten minutes there was a crowd gathering to see this moose and photograph her as well. For Karl and I we quickly filled 4 gigs of images and were on our way to find Andy and Mike and maybe even Bull Moose.
Steve with female moose in background.
About 30 minutes later we found Andy and Mike but would not see another moose until the following morning. We made our way to our camp site at Nesowadnehunk Field Campground where we had two lean-tos. By this time the rain had picked up but with Steve being the ever experienced camper he had all the “things” we would need to make our camp site as comfortable as possible. Colemen stove, lantern and all cooking utensils plus a large tarp to pull down off the front of the lean-to where we were able to place the picnic table under and have a nice dinner. Two nights of sleeping out doors in temps around 30 were just fine as we hunkered inside our sleeping-bags.
Steve and Karl with female moose directly in front of them only 40 feet away.
Shawn and Steve at lean-to camp site.
Click here to view more photos from Baxter State Park Read More...
Baxter State Park current size is 204,733 acres and was a gift to the state of Maine by Governor Percival Baxter in 1931. The highest mountain inside the park is Baxter Peak at 5,267 feet.
I would drive up with long time friend and fellow hawk watcher Steve Anderson and a new friend and wildlife photographer Dr. Karl Zuzarte. We departed very early Friday morning October 9, at 5:30 AM and made the 5.5 hour trip arriving at 11:00 AM. Andy and Mike had departed the night before and were already in the park waiting for us. There was no cell services or so we thought. Turns out Karl was somehow able to get reception on his I-phone. The weather seemed to be in our favor on the way up however as luck would have it by the time we arrived it started to change for the worse. Overcast conditions soon changed to a light mist then some rain, not exactly what we wanted for photography. However we made stops at many of the ponds looking for the elusive “life” moose for me. Around 2:00 PM we made a turn towards Daicey Pond and on the left side in a marsh right next to the road was female moose enjoying the afternoon feeding in the water. As we exited the vehicle Karl and I grabbed our cameras and much to our delight this moose cared less that we were standing no more then 40 feet from her as we clicked away, frame after frame. I HAD A LIFE MOOSE! Better yet I was able to photograph the first moose I had even seen. As a wildlife photographer we like to say “it only takes one” and lucky for us we had our moose. Within ten minutes there was a crowd gathering to see this moose and photograph her as well. For Karl and I we quickly filled 4 gigs of images and were on our way to find Andy and Mike and maybe even Bull Moose.
Steve with female moose in background.
About 30 minutes later we found Andy and Mike but would not see another moose until the following morning. We made our way to our camp site at Nesowadnehunk Field Campground where we had two lean-tos. By this time the rain had picked up but with Steve being the ever experienced camper he had all the “things” we would need to make our camp site as comfortable as possible. Colemen stove, lantern and all cooking utensils plus a large tarp to pull down off the front of the lean-to where we were able to place the picnic table under and have a nice dinner. Two nights of sleeping out doors in temps around 30 were just fine as we hunkered inside our sleeping-bags.
Steve and Karl with female moose directly in front of them only 40 feet away.
Shawn and Steve at lean-to camp site.
Click here to view more photos from Baxter State Park Read More...
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