It’s that time of year: the elk are on the move, the eagles are seeking their mates, the snow geese have returned and gather in the fields.

I managed to sneek up on the Roosevelt elk herd that lives on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State. The males are just now growing their antlers, which can weigh up to 40 pounds. An adult male can weigh up to 1000 pounds. Don’t get in their way!

One would think these huge males would be the leaders of the herd. Not true! The dominant cows determine when and where the herd moves.

In the fall, during rutting season, the males are known to “bugle,” which if you’ve never heard it, is a very strange sound. We were camping one year up on Mount Rainier and thought sure we were surrounded by Sasquatch!

We don’t see many Trumpeter swans here on the Olympic Peninsula; it is always a treat to see this magnificent bird that can stand 4 feet high and has a wingspan up to 7 feet! In the Skagit Valley, it’s not uncommon to see thousands of white birds in the fields – most of them snow geese, mixed with the swans.

The sun seemed to warm the field of this barn today. I tried to capture an eagle in his lookout in a barren tree – but he took off just as I snapped the picture. He was the one that got away!