Monday morning I watched a White-tailed buck chasing a doe out near a patch of high sage brush, so being the sneaky fellow that I am, I decided to surprise them. That I did.
The buck jumped out of the sagebrush, then he started chasing the doe. For safety or for something that has a greater pull than safety.
I flushed a Northern Harrier on the way back to the truck.
The rest of the day was hiking about seven miles with very little excitement until the evening when I flushed a Long-eared owl with very poor light which equals poor pictures.
This morning I was on the desert long before the sun rose in the east. Jackrabbits were all over the place, but no Golden eagles to chase them close to me.
The White-tailed deer appeared to be thicker than the jack rabbits.
I watched 14 bull elk about a mile away from me, but as I dropped over a ridge, nine White-tailed were working a far ridge and were more concerned what was in the tall grass than they were of me.
Four coyotes were spread out through the marsh hunting. It appeared two adults were teaching two pups how to hunt.
The coyotes flushed as Snowshoe hare out of the marsh grass and it ran right between two deer that were more concerned about the coyotes than they were of me.
I followed the deer over the hill and then I had a card in my camera malfunction. I thought I was still shooting pictures of five bucks chasing a doe in heat, but nothing was recorded. I am heading back on Friday to try to get those bucks sparring and fighting; but it was an experience of a lifetime that was missed.
After I realized the card had gone baaaaaad, I headed home and replaced the card. To make sure it was working, I headed for the river bottoms and ran into this beautiful Saw Whet owl. I ran back and got my wife and grandchildren to see it. A rare find to be sure. I will take Lady Luck anytime.
Just a couple of days in the wilds of Idaho for a wild retired old bald man.
