December 2023 - 6

OPENING SHOT
Unlikely friends
Photo: by Vic Schendel
Gear: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm
Settings: 1/2700 sec, f/8, ISO 800
T
here are times when being out on
cold, winter days and trying to find
something to photograph can be an
exercise in futility. Hiking through deep snow,
temperatures well below zero, wind chills
that freeze my face and finding nothing of
interest can test the limits of my endurance.
On other occasions there are moments when
finding a hidden gem in the quietude of the
forest can make the miserable days fade
from memory.
Elk and magpies have a mutually beneficial
relationship. On a clear, cloudless, zerodegree
afternoon near Saratoga, I found this
majestic bull elk bedded on a packed snow
drift in late December trying to recover
some of his strength lost during the rut.
As he laid there, a magpie landed softly on
his head. The elk didn't so much as blink.
The bird, over the next few minutes, poked
the elk from head to ears and neck to tail,
looking for blood-sucking parasites of some
kind. The elk never moved and didn't mind
cooperating in this undertaking. A mutual
repositioning was taking place; relief for the
elk from a bunch of traveling freeloaders and
a meal for the magpie.
6 | December 2023

December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2023

December 2023 - 1
December 2023 - 2
December 2023 - 3
December 2023 - 4
December 2023 - 5
December 2023 - 6
December 2023 - 7
December 2023 - 8
December 2023 - 9
December 2023 - 10
December 2023 - 11
December 2023 - 12
December 2023 - 13
December 2023 - 14
December 2023 - 15
December 2023 - 16
December 2023 - 17
December 2023 - 18
December 2023 - 19
December 2023 - 20
December 2023 - 21
December 2023 - 22
December 2023 - 23
December 2023 - 24
December 2023 - 25
December 2023 - 26
December 2023 - 27
December 2023 - 28
December 2023 - 29
December 2023 - 30
December 2023 - 31
December 2023 - 32
December 2023 - 33
December 2023 - 34
December 2023 - 35
December 2023 - 36
December 2023 - 37
December 2023 - 38
December 2023 - 39
December 2023 - 40
December 2023 - 41
December 2023 - 42
December 2023 - 43
December 2023 - 44
December 2023 - 45
December 2023 - 46
December 2023 - 47
December 2023 - 48
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-iak-special-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/dec-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/January2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/September2020
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