Black Bear, Red Squirrel, & Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds
I’ve seen eight black bears this year. The first seven I saw from the safety of my car. Last Friday was different. I saw a bear while hiking on the North Country National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin. I was at point A when I saw the bear smack in the middle of the trail at point B. I looked at the bear; the bear looked at me. Then it took off
The bear loped to my left, angling away from me. It stopped a few times to keep tabs on me and eventually passed from sight into the thickets of scrub oak. I was a bit apprehensive, so I turned around and hiked back to my car at the trailhead, all the while checking over my shoulder. Should I start carrying bear spray? I want to go back to complete the section of trail I was on.
I returned last week to the Pine Creek meadows to try to do a better job at photographing hummingbirds. The birds were still there in great numbers and active. The meadows were still bursting with wildflowers. I did much better this time.
I shot in manual mode with shutter speeds of 1/2000 or 1/2500 second and auto ISO.
Today I visited Willow River State Park. There is a fallen tree along the trail. The red squirrels like to use it as a highway. Today was not the first time I photographed squirrels on this tree. I’m going to start referring to it as the Squirrel Tree. I took 247 shots of this squirrel. Not once did it drop the acorn from its mouth.
