The Bear River flows into the Great Salt near Brigham City, UT, just east of the Promontory Mountains, forming a lovely delta that is known as the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR). In winter, the refuge hosts Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, and Horned Larks. Although these winter species are commonly observed, there are no guarantees that any particular species will be out and about when you visit. Sometimes, there seems to be no birds around at all…
I encountered this skunk, or more properly, this Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis, about half-way around the 12-mile auto tour route. I don’t believe in cosmic messages, but if I did, the appearance of this animal would be a pretty clear one.
The image of this skunk was recorded on February 10, 2011, using the Nikon D700 and the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED lens at 400mm. Exposures were f/8 and 1/1250s, ISO 400. Handheld – this animal moves very quickly!
Copyright 2011 Peter F. Flynn. No usage permitted without prior written consent. All rights reserved.
Tags: Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, BRMBR, Mephitis mephitis, skunk, Striped Skunk
Hey thats cool. It looks like he is treading on thin ice…. and I think you were treading on thin ice getting that close to a skunk. Getting “stink” out of camera gear could be tricky. I like the way his eye is showing between the branches in the top shot. I have never seen a sknunk in the wild.
Hi B,
Yep, that little dude was scampering across the ice at a good pace. I kept close to the truck and shot at 400mm – figured that would be safe. There was no question about whether the skunk saw me, it clearly did. Yeah, second skunk I’ve seen – the first little bugger tried to dig it’s way into my garage!
Cheers,
P.