So we were leaving Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge after my first actual day in the ZEISS booth at the Festival of the Cranes when we saw 7 or 8 cars in various states of disarray pulled off the side of the road just past where the rail lines cross Route 1. What’s that all about? At Bosque you never can be sure.

Elk!

Bosque’s small herd of Elk were making a rare public appearance back across the tracks against the brushy woods at the far side of the field, maybe 300 yards (at a wild guess) away from the road. What I saw first was a group of females and young well out into the field. The stopped cars already had them alert and moving back toward the brush, but I popped out of the car with my Canon SX40HS and ran it out to full zoom (840mm equivalent) to get a few shots. As you see above, the largest of the females (apparently the dominant female) is wearing a radio collar so refuge management can tell where the herd is feeding each day (not information they share with the public). I used the 1.5x and 2x digital tel-converters to get a few closer shots.

I was concentrating on the very visible females until my wife pointed out a bull, with a fairly large rack, standing well back in the brush watching the proceedings. For him I got out the spotting scope and my smaller Point and Shoot for some digiscoped images. The males are taken at about 3400mm equivalent through the eyepiece of the ZEISS spotting scope.

Finally another, even larger bull appeared from the right, bugling. What a treat! He, however, was too old and wise to show himself completely so all I have are a few obscured shots as he wound in and out of the brush. Good enough to show the massive rack…but not very satisfying otherwise.

After a few more shots, I hopped back into the car and we went off happily back to Socorro and supper at Frank and Lupe’s El Sombrero. And a very good day that was!

I know, Elk are commonplace to some of you, but for us, it was a very special encounter.

Canon SX40HS at 840mm, 1260mm and 1680mm. Canon SD100HS behind the eyepiece of the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for 3400mm equivalent. Processed in Lightroom for Intensity, Sharpness, and Color Temperature (spotting scope shots).