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Elk, Bison and a Moose – Spring in the Rocky Mountains

Late April 2023, Colorado: down on the prairie, bison graze in front of the still snow-covered Front Range; up in the mountains the elk are growing their new antlers — and between the boulders, entirely unannounced, a moose shows up. A spring road trip between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, with gear notes.

Portrait of a resting bull elk with velvet antlers, Rocky Mountains — Spring look with velvet antlers and the last of the winter coat: bull elk chewing the cud — Canon EOS R5, RF 100-500 mm at 500 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 640.

Down low: bison and prairie dogs

The trip opens on the prairie at the foot of the mountains: short grass to the horizon, the white wall of the Front Range behind — and in the middle of it the bison herd, the most classic of all North American motifs. Between the big grazers bustles the second attraction: prairie dog towns, their sentries standing upright at the burrow, tufts of grass in their mouths, barking at every approach. And from every second bush sings a western meadowlark — the soundtrack of the American West.

Bison herd grazing on the prairie in front of the snow-covered Front Range, Colorado — Prairie, bison, snow peaks: Colorado in one frame — 420 mm, 1/800 s, ISO 160.

Prairie dog with a tuft of grass in its mouth at the entrance of its burrow — Hauling nesting material: prairie dog at the burrow — 700 mm, 1/1000 s, f/11, ISO 500.

Singing western meadowlark with yellow breast on a prairie bush — The soundtrack of the West: western meadowlark — 700 mm, 1/1250 s, ISO 500.

Up high: elk, turkeys — and the moose

In the mountain valleys around Estes Park the elk herds stand right at the meadows on the edge of town in spring: bulls with fresh velvet antlers, dozing, ruminating, entirely unimpressed by traffic. In between, a wild turkey fans his tail, a nuthatch peeks out of its nest hole in a pine — and at a creek between the boulders, the surprise of the trip: a young moose calmly working its way through the willow scrub. The lakes up at the trailhead were still fully under snow and ice in early May.

Displaying wild turkey with puffed plumage and red head — Spring courtship: wild turkey in full display — 500 mm, 1/1000 s, ISO 1250.

Young moose feeding on willow scrub between boulders, Rocky Mountains — The surprise at the creek: moose in the willows — 254 mm, 1/640 s, ISO 2500.

Nuthatch peeking head-first out of a nest hole in a pine trunk — Tenant in the pine: nuthatch at the nest hole — 500 mm, 1/2500 s, ISO 3200.

Snow-covered mountain lake in front of snowy Rocky Mountain peaks — Early May at 9,500 feet: the lake still under snow — RF 28-70 mm at 38 mm, f/13.

The gear: road-trip setup

Colorado in spring is a car safari: the Canon EOS R5 with the RF 100-500 mm lay ready on the passenger seat, the 1.4x extender went on for prairie distances (700 mm for prairie dogs and meadowlarks), and the RF 28-70 mm f/2 covered landscapes and snowbound lakes. Elk and moose demanded no reach at all — just patience and a quiet spot at the roadside. And as on every trip in this series: card into the Mac in the evening, review, file — today RAWFetcher does it straight from the card.

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