I was driving the auto tour road at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. When I got to the south side of the refuge, I started looking for a whitetail buck I have been photographing all summer (Young Spike Whitetail Buck at Sequoyah Refuge). Sure enough, I spotted him on the north side of the road in a clearing. He was feeding on a small sapling and I did get a photo of him, which I’m sharing in this post. I was photographing from inside my pickup, using a beanbag draped over the open window for support.
After he nibbled some leaves off the tree, he walked over to the three does he always seems to be with. One of the does tried to run him off – she chased him a short distance. As I was leaving, I noticed he was working his way back over to the group of does.
It will be changing a lot here in the next several weeks as the bucks start removing the velvet from their antlers. I’m hoping I’ll be able to continue photographing this buck through that process. He’s been a treat to observe and photograph this summer. I feel lucky to have found such a cooperative subject!
Steve Creek, Wildlife Photographer
Equipment Used:
- Camera: Canon EOS R5
- Lens: Canon RF 100-500 mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Technical Details:
- Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
- Date and Time Taken: August 10, 2023 (07:50A. M.)
- Program: Manual
- Aperture: f7.1
- Shutter speed: 1/400
- ISO: 6400 (Auto)
- Exp. Comp.: +1.0
- Focal Length: 500 mm
He sure is a handsome buck!