… it’s time to stock up the pantry for winter food supply!
While photographing the Bighorn Sheep in Waterton Canyon, Colorado, a very busy American Beaver was observed cutting down willow saplings along the bank of the river, and then carrying them back to his lodge. This is a behavior of the beaver … they cut down saplings, drag them back to their lodge, then carry them underwater and ram them into the bottom of the river (or lake, or creek); then, as winter freezes the water (making it difficult to impossible to get out of the water for food), the beaver only has to leave his lodge and pick up one of his “entrees” in his food pantry, just outside the lodge! Here are a few of my favorite images I captured along the rive as this little guy stayed “as busy as a beaver”:
What I like best about the above photos is the wonderful water. Between the reflections in the water, and the mesmerizing patterns in the water, this little guy was in the perfect environment for some interesting photos!
But that’s not all. Remember the title of this post? Well, the day before these images were made, several inches of snow fell in the region, which made for some wonderful environmental shots. Here is one example:
You can see a bit of the snow on the river bank, but also some of the reflected images in the water. I photograph a lot of beavers, but I believe this is the first time I’ve been able to photograph one in snow!
Photography Equipment Used:
- Canon 7D body
- Canon 100mm-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens
- Handheld
- ISO 500 (all images)
- Aperture f5.6, f/8, f/9
- Shutter Speed 1/200, 1/500, 1/800
I’ll likely be posting a few more images of this busy little guy, in upcoming posts.