Some days the smallest subjects are the easiest to overlook. On a walk at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, I stopped for one acorn hanging right over the sidewalk.
Wildlife Notes: What Acorns Mean for Oak Tree Wildlife
Acorns are one of the most reliable food sources in the Arkansas-Oklahoma region. White-tailed deer, fox squirrels, and a handful of bird species all key in on oak mast through fall and into winter, when other food gets scarce.
Deer tend to work the ground under heavy producers, using their nose more than their eyes to find dropped acorns. They can consume a surprising volume in a single feeding session during peak mast fall.
Squirrels take a different approach. They cache acorns by burying them individually, often dozens of yards from the source tree. The ones they forget, or never retrieve, have a real shot at germinating. That behavior makes squirrels an active, if unintentional, reforestation crew.
Birds round out the consumer list. Blue jays are probably the most aggressive acorn movers, carrying multiple nuts at a time in their crop and caching them away from the tree. Woodpeckers and nuthatches will also work acorns when they can get to them.
The oak trees near the Reeves Slough fishing pier at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge hold good numbers of acorns in late summer. That makes the pier trail a productive walk even when you’re not looking for birds or deer.
Photography Notes: Shooting a Single Acorn
This acorn was hanging over the sidewalk that leads to the Phillip Parks Memorial Fishing Pier. I photographed it handheld, which kept things simple and fast on a public walkway.
Gear Used:
- Camera: Fujifilm X-T3
- Lens: Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM (attached with a Fringer EF-FX Pro)
Technical:
- Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
- Date and Time Taken: August 25, 2020 (08:10:58 A.M.)
- Aperture: f5.6
- Shutter speed: 1/450 sec. (as determined by the camera)
- ISO: 1600
- Exposure Compensation: +0.33
- Focal Length: 400 mm
A Quiet Moment on the Trail
Not every wildlife shot is a predator making a kill or a buck in velvet. Sometimes it’s a single acorn on a summer morning, hanging over the sidewalk like it’s asking to be photographed. I’m glad I stopped for it.
If you’re visiting Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge and want to explore that area, the Phillip Parks Memorial Fishing Pier at Reeves Slough is worth the walk any time of year.