On February 12, 2014, I watched an opossum pause mid-forage and look straight at me from an old cornfield.
Wildlife Notes
The scene in the cornfield
I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, working the edges of an old cornfield. The ground had scattered fertilizer that looked like chicken litter. I could see white feathers mixed in, which made that guess feel pretty safe.
Fields like this can be surprisingly busy. They hold scent, scraps, seeds, insects, and all kinds of small things worth checking out. When I see fresh fertilizer or disturbed ground, I slow down and scan it the same way I would scan a muddy shoreline.
What the opossum did
The opossum worked the pile like it had a job to do. It dug and sniffed, then paused now and then to glance my way before going right back to foraging. That steady, methodical pace gave me time to watch its routine and time my shots.
I have also photographed coyotes in similar fields at the refuge, so I was already on alert for movement. This time it was smaller and slower, but just as interesting. It felt like one of those quiet encounters that would have been easy to miss if I had driven past too fast.g.
Photography Notes
Camera support and approach
I shot from my pickup with a bean bag draped over the open window. That gave me a steady rest without a lot of movement, which helped keep the animal calm.
Gear and settings
For this image I used a Canon EOS 7D with a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens.
Here are the settings from the shoot:
- Mode: AV (Aperture Priority)
- Aperture: f/8
- ISO: 320
- Shutter speed: 1/1250 sec
- Exposure compensation: -2/3 EV
- Focal length: 500mm
Closing
I like encounters where an animal is completely focused on its own world, then gives me a quick look before carrying on. That is exactly what happened here. It was a short moment, but it stuck with me, because it showed how much activity can be hiding in a plain-looking field.