Wrapping Up My Time at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

The last three days of my stay at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma were all about photographing White-tailed Deer and Elk. One of those days was spent breaking camp and preparing to head home, but the time I had left was filled with wildlife encounters that made it worthwhile.

On one of these days, I was driving over a hill when several cow elk suddenly darted across the road in front of me. Knowing how these things work, I figured a bull elk would soon follow. I parked my truck, got ready, and sure enough, a bull stepped out from behind a large boulder. It was trailing the cows, just as I suspected. I quickly grabbed a photo of the bull as it prepared to cross the road. If you zoom in, you’ll notice the elk had unusually long chin hairs, which was a cool detail to capture.

Later that morning, in the far southwest corner of the refuge, I could hear multiple bull elk bugling in the trees north of the road. I parked, listened carefully, and guessed there were at least three of them. Eventually, one bull emerged from the trees and wandered into a nearby field to feed. The others stayed hidden, their bugling echoing through the woods. I waited nearly an hour, hoping more would step out, but after a while, the bugling faded as they moved further away.

Later in the day, I spotted another bull elk making its way up a steep bank from a lake. It appeared to be heading toward a small group of cow elk that were nearby. I suspect the herd had been spooked by some hikers that I saw in the area.

Of course, my time wasn’t only about elk. I saw plenty of White-tailed Deer, too, and captured some nice close-up shots of a doe and her fawn. The fawn’s spots were almost completely faded by this time. A few deer encounters really stood out to me over those last two days. I photographed a large buck followed closely by a doe. I spotted the same pair twice, and each time the doe was trailing the buck, which struck me as odd. Usually, it’s the bucks following the does, especially since does typically avoid bucks this time of year. Another memorable sighting was a young buck with a broken ear. The ear hung down as if the buck couldn’t move it, and it still had its antlers covered in velvet.

In addition to the deer and elk, I came across a lone Tom Turkey catching and eating grasshoppers in a field. Watching the turkey hunt was fascinating, and I was lucky enough to get a photo of him checking the area out.

Before leaving, I photographed a frog—a fitting final shot for my trip. It seemed like a small but meaningful way to wrap up my wildlife adventure at the refuge.

Overall, my trip to both Black Mesa State Park and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma was a fantastic experience. I’m happy with the photos I captured and can’t wait for my next adventure. I’m planning to head to the Buffalo National River in Arkansas soon to photograph elk during the rut.

Thanks for following along on my end-of-summer wildlife journey!