I found this wonderful bull moose browsing leaves on a crisp early fall day. Adult moose need between 40 to 50 pounds of grass and bark to stay healthy.
A good way to start the foggy day !!
Well Well ... !! My Fourth of July got off to a big bang at 5:15 this morning almost in my back yard. !! This is the 3rd year in a row I have seen this guy in the same spot..... I spent 45 minutes watching him feed before he drifted up into the woods.
I see you, again..... Quabbin Reservoir watershed.
The Prescott bull wore a radio collar for 2006 and 2007. His where abouts not known until I shot these photos last fall....
Another way to identify him is his antlers. They don't quite match do they?
Thats him again 6 days after I took the first four photos you have just seen. He has shed his antlers for the year.
Here's a young bull in August working on some tasty pond lillies right up to his neck in a small beaver pond.
" Will they be surprised when I come up their access tunnel for a visit"
As I was set up alongside a field this morning, this bull moose came crashing out of the woods running right along. It ran about 100 yards, stopped, sniffed, looked around and ran off. I saw him again about an hour later.
I saw both these moose a few days ago at 2 different spots. This morning I spotted the larger racked one running across the field (see last photo) and an hour later they were hanging out together. I suspect they were talking about the Red Sox's chances next year,
I saw and photographed this bull last December. He has a strange antler and a blue tag in his ear. I found him this morning standing by the side off the road and he just kind of said "Hi Dale, hows it going" with his eyes and didn't move while I took his picture ! 11/3/15
Today was a seven moose day ! Here are 2 of them thinking "who ta hell is that?"
Heres the same moose as the last photo. Notice the deer flies trailing behind his head. Thats why moose love to get into ponds up to their necks sometimes. To cool off and as a relief from biting insects. 7/4/16
well well !! Look who tromped right through the other side on my swamp today !!...... A young bull moose looking pretty ratty while shedding his winter coat. You can see his new antlers already starting. He didnt hang around long..... 5/9/16
I love this time of year. Especially the cool weather because the moose start looking for love !! This one was in a dry swamp I checked this morning. I was surprised to see it had a small one with it I couldn't get a picture of. Notice the fur standing up on her back? I was glad she was 100 yards away and I had a telephoto lens !
This morning I watched a female moose with a young in tow browse in an abandoned apple orchard at Quabbin. A great way to start off the week ! 11/7/17
For the 3rd year in a row I've bumped into this moose at Quabbin. He's got a very distinct pair of antlers. Masswildlife had a radio collar on him in 2007 and they told me he could now be 12 or 13 years old. He was 1/2 mile from where I saw him last year and 5 miles from where I saw him in 2014.
In the last 2 weeks I drove 2516 miles to the Canadian Maritimes and back. One of the main reasons was to photograph moose. I didn't see any due to a number of circumstances. So now I'm home, I drive 7 miles, walked 200 yards to the field and there they are !! Two nice bulls browsing away !
Well, I walked further for a few miles from the orchard and this gal jumped out of the bushes in front of me !! Lets have a hand for telephoto lenses ..... 11/7/16
You never know whats going to appear at Quabbin !! I spotted this handsome guy standing off the trail in the woods watching me. I waited about 15 minutes just standing in the trail. He finally started wandering along thinking I was not a threat and came right out into the trail....then started walking right towards me !
“Ma, theres someone following us”.
This young bull moose will never sneak up on anyone! I heard him slopping 10 minutes before I saw him this morning! 5/10/18
I played a hunch this morning and decided to leave the beavers alone and go to a place I haven’t been in 2 years. and Bingo ! 200 yards up the trail and I spotted this guy behind some bushes, all of a sudden he popped out to say Hello ! He looks pretty ratty because he’s shedding his winter coat.
You can see from this image that this is a bull moose. He is just starting to grow his antlers for the fall mating season. Some moose can grow antlers up to 35 pounds !
I must say, I've seen lots of beavers in my lifetime but never seen one with big ears like this one... I should have hung around to see how it was going to fit in that lodge…
I found these 2 moose in a swamp this morning while it was still quite dark. A mother and it looks like moose from last year still with her. Can you spot the beaver ?
A good place to stay cool !
As I hiked around the corner last week a big black 7 foot high female moose was browsing along the side of the trail. I watched her for about 15 minutes from about 125 yards away before she slowly wandered into the woods. It made my day!
This guy was browsing in a large field in New Salem with another bull about the same size…I took a few pictures from about 150 yards with a 500mm lens and left them munching away enjoying their breakfast
I love this time of year as the moose are hitting the swamps to get the nourishment water plants supply them. A full grown moose needs 50 pounds a day of plants and bark to sustain their health.
After spending almost a week with 8 different moose, today after 3 hours of searching and setting in a few places, I came away without seeing a one. As I walked back to my vehicle I found this taped to a tree... :)
I found this old friend in a small pond she frequents in the summer. I call her Brownie because of her brown snout and forehead . I haven’t seen her since mid September. She was looking good and healthy today. She may have been breed during their rut. Time will tell.
Peek-a-Boo…… these large animals can hide and be almost invisible …. Anytime I see a moose its a great day! From this morning…
I dont know who was more surprised, me, or these two !
A crisp early Autumn stroll…….
Ummmm, theres no way I would walk up on this bull moose with his potential mate right behind him laying down. He has my number and luckily I am 150 yards away ! Nikon 500mm lens comes thru again ….
Did you ever have that feeling someone, or something was watching you from afar ?
Two moose are better than one. I spotted these 2 guys hanging out in the back of a field. I dont know what they were discussing but in a few weeks this will never happen… they will dueling for mates :)
A monster bull moose found this morning bedded down near a small pond in northern Quabbin gave me the surprise of the year!
I’ve run into this pair a few times throughout the summer and I always try to keep away from them as not to upset Mom….. as you can see , she has me pegged. It’s times like these I cherish my 500mm, f4 Nikon telephoto lens.
Another great find! This huge bull moose feeding in a small beaver pond. I felt bad for him because of all the deer flies that were chasing him. You can see them all over his back.
As I was watching this female moose feed this morning in an isolated pond this young one came hopping out of the bushes along the shore. Quite the surprise!
Local moose are in the ponds this month and are pretty easy to find. The only drawback is you need to get out at about 4:30 to 5 am because they are early risers.
Yes, another moose !! This one was browsing in a foggy field when he walked into the path I was on that went around the big field. I watched his progress until he walked right up in front of me. Note the long legs on this guy!
The rare and thought to be extinct mooseagator !! :)
This female moose had no fear of me. There was a big stonewall between us and I was about 50 yards away. Thanks to my 600mm F4 Nikon telephoto lens I could stay back without bothering her. The way it should be.
These guys are about ready to shed their antlers until May when they start growing them all over again. My neck hurts just thinking about it!!
I see this moose every year in the same pond. He has an unmistakable notch in his right ear. Easy to tell him from other bulls in the area.
First moose of the year! This nice cow. Also had a bear and a bull moose. A great day in early spring.
Not every moose I have posted here are posing for me in the wide open without brush or trees getting in the way of the image. I have to be very lucky. This is what I usually end up with…
A great way to start my week! This guy was just standing around watching the moose world go by and I caught the moment on my camera. He was not bothered by me and I checked back 90 minutes later and he was in the same place still! One word. The RUT !
Heres something you don’t see often. A bull moose bedded down right by the road! I watched him for about 45 minutes before he went off the road and into a small bog.
Here he is giving me a disgusted look as he walks off the road and into a small bog.
The moose are starting to spend early mornings feeding in fields and ponds of the northern Quabbin watershed. This is an old friend of mine I see each year about this time in a large field.
This 2 year old bull ran across the road in front of me today. I saw him by the side of the road and was out on my car when he flew by about 60 yards away…taken with my Nikon D850 and my 500mm F4 Nikon lens!
The moose are in the ponds now!
Happy New Year everyone ! I’m taking a few days off to clean my gear, and work on my third book about great blue herons and their friends !, out in 6 to 7 months with some luck. New photos should start again here after Jan 1st, 2022… stay safe and wear a mask in public places.
On my first outing in a few weeks I ran into this gal munching leaves for breakfast. I took about 40 pictures and left her alone as she watched me go away...... The hot weather has finally broken and the animals seem to be out of their hiding places in the deep cool woods.
Happy October ! The bulls are looking for love in north central Massachusetts.
My morning ended with a bang, a 1,000 pound bang!
After years of looking I finally caught this bull with his velvet drying up and hanging from his antlers. In a few days they will be whiteish yellow and ready for battle.
Bull moose have started dropping their antlers already this fall. This guy is very familiar to me as he has a torn right ear. I saw him a month ago with a very large rack. If you own my new Heron book this is the same moose as photographed on the last 2 pages.
This morning I ran into these 2 bull moose browsing in a field in the north Quabbin area. One of them ran across the field to check me out! 500mm Nikon f4 lens on my D850 camera made it look like I was way to close, but I was 90 yards away.
A cold crisp morning and I found this guy bulking up for the upcoming winter months…
“I dont know if I want you to pass”……
A last minute change in my plans paid off, more for me than him... :) What a black and shiny coat this guy has.
A good swim and lunch at the same time relieves moose from the harassment of thousands of biting insects. This is the first moose I have seen in a pond this year. Right on time !
The next time you're in the woods with someone who says " Let's get outta here, I cant stand the darn deer flies!" Show them this picture of a female moose I found this morning up to her neck in the pond trying to get away from them.. They were driving her crazy!
Early morning sun backlighting this healthy female moose and her breath at 30 degrees F.
The first shedding roadblock of the year!
The lighting was great when this adult female moose walked across the road in front of me! You can see where she is shedding around her shoulders.
A neat surprise to start the holiday weekend! A 500 pound shedding female moose standing in the road !
This is the first moose I have discovered in the ponds this year. A small year old bull. Notice the small antlers just starting to grow. ……Ma was not far away.. I have her pictures also.
“Damn, I wish they would put up People Crossing signs”.
This moose I see year around. I can tell because he has a torn right ear looking like a question mark. He likes this particular pond to feed in every spring. Note the pitcher plant buds growing in front of the moose.
Before 5 AM early morning breakfast…the moose eats the plants and the bugs eat me !
A July 4th bull moose out standing in his field!
The first moose I have run into since July. … the hot muggy weather must be bothering them and keeping them bedded down during the day.
After 2 weeks in Nova Scotia, the first thing I saw was the Walmart Greeter at Quabbin 150 yards down the road :)