What do you mean by weird? I am getting a sense of an undertone there that you’re not saying what you really think. It’s funny when people who “seasonally” go into nature and make hypotheses on why things are the way they are. As a hunter myself I understand elk behavior. I spend every year deep in elk territory. We make fun of people who road hunt. Apart from you not having a way to harvest an elk you are doing the same thing. The people who road hunt always say “we haven’t seen a thing” well because MOST elk aren’t near roads. I understand these areas you are in typically have high populations but there’s a good chance as social media makes these places popular you will likely put pressure on these animals which will force them out of the area. There’s also several things you clearly don’t understand about the elk rut which can easily be understood by a google search. You have 3 stages of the elk rut. Early rut, pre-rut and peak rut. Early rut is when heard bulls isolate. Smaller bulls may link up with heard of calves and cows but that’s because they just got ditched by their buddies and their instincts tell them to group up with other elk. Pre-rut is when heard bulls start showing up but doesn’t mean they typically are fighting yet. Peak rut is when they cows are hot in estrus and more fights ensue. Another thing to keep in mind is if you were there during a full moon the elk are likely resting during the day because they had all night to rut. Weather also affects feeding habits. If it’s hot they will be resting longer during the day and feeding more at night. Weather also affects where their feeding areas are. A late rain season actually means they can stay longer in high timber because Forbes are more available and provide more caloric value compared to grass. I am not talking at the tundra line. They will likely be places nowhere near a road when looking for Forbes. Deep in thick timber. Almost impossible to spot them unless you are about 50 yards away. Once they have no Forbes their next best food source is grass. From what it looks like in your videos is the type of habitat you were hoping to film them in. I’m not sure if you have an issue with hunting but I can guarantee you it’s not that. Hunting is highly regulated and scientifically managed. If there’s any blame on humans it’s lack of habitat and year round pressure. I.E. hiking, camping and other outdoor activities.

The one elk I saw this week was being harassed by people so I don't blame them from staying away.

Have the wolves been anywhere close to this area?

We were there this past week looking and listening for elk . Driving in at 5 am were heard and seen elk in the moonlight. As soon as daylight they would quit down and move into the timber. Only after cooler temperatures did we see elk in the meadows 30 minutes before dark.

The temp, moon and weather DO affect the quality of the rut. Theres numerous studies and research papers that prove that sir.

I am going a week from tomorrow!!

Scott, great video as always, even with the challenges. My wife and I went up this weekend before sunrise to the Grand Lake side and experienced the same, very quiet. We continued on to the east side and it was also very quiet, only saw two groups. We had a little bit more luck on the east side a few weeks ago but as you mentioned there are just so many people who insist on talking non-stop it's very difficult to get any decent footage. Hopefully next year will be a better turnout.

We don’t have Owls in NW Arkansas, yours are beautiful thanks for sharing 🤩 🦉 📸

Love the burrowing owl photos!

Never knew about Westerly Wetlands. That’s not too far from my house. I will have to head over there.

Great shot of the Owl!

Westerly Wetlands is great! I spent a lot of time there when I started birding. Saw my first Yellow-Headed Blackbirds and American Bittern there.

I just keep a few extra charged batteries and SD cards in my camera bag to avoid this exact thing. Worst case I have to walk back to my van. :)

I believe the sandpiper at 5:32 is actually a Bairds sandpiper rather than a semipalmated

GREAT JOB as always

Darn, I am sorry I missed it as I only discovered your channel earlier this week! Wow, you do a great job. I live here in Westy. I am gonna head over to Wild Birds Unlimited when they open to get my yard up to friendly wildlife standards.😻

Hey Scott. My wife and I stopped by and enjoyed meeting you. We especially enjoyed your storm photos and associated stories. Particularly your story about the tornado in southern Colorado by the pink house. Yikes! Glad the pop up was a success.

Very cool. I'm glad that it was a success.

Sad I missed it (wife and I were in RMNP) hopefully we can make the next one! Glad you had a great time!

I sad I 2as not able to go

Thanks for the video. I have been there a lot but not in 5 years or so when you could drive right in. I would usually go just before sunrise. Each day I would see 5 or more bulls coming out from the lake area. I think I should give another try.

That sounds really exciting. Thats something I have been terrified to do as well. I cant wait to hear how it goes. I wish I was going to be in town this weekend to meet you and see your photos.

Well, I think that your photos are amazing. And if I can get a ride down there, I wanna come by and check you out. I just have to figure out where the location is. If it's not in the Denver metro area, I probably won't be able to go, but if it is I might be able to catch myself a Uber or lyft over there. And hopefully, yes, we'll see I'm excited

the flyer is blurred

Awwww poor guy 4:24

I really miss having a car right now Denver Metro Area is not where we can see these beauty's

What a lovely video!

So I'm gonna leave another comment here. Oh I would love to be able to come , and um, see you in your photographs in Denver. I hope I can catch this when you're gonna come. I hope you gave us a few days' notice. I do have to catch an Uber or a lift. Because I don't have a car, but I would like to try and see if I can make it to your location awesome, this would be fun.

Well, I wanted to tell you something about that. I used to work for Walmart. Your part that you bought you can take it to any Walmart. In any state, take your receipt and you can return it and get your money back. You don't have to keep that pricey. Item, you can take it back. You have a certain amount of days. I think it's at least 30 days to return that And uh, yeah, just do that man. Get your money back.

Oh I just love birds. I like exotic birds too. The ones that yet the parrots and stuff like that that yet get to have in your house, that talk, but I'm a bird lover, I don't get to bird watch and stuff like that. But oh I absolutely enjoy watching you. I just found you today and you're so lucky. I would love to be able to travel around and do this kind of stuff and you take beautiful photographs, it's amazing.

Goldenite here! I’m subscribing for Colorado birding content! Thanks for this!

My wife and I drove up to the jetty on our anniversary in June and found that construction site. We did see some eagles on the beach, on the other side of the fencing, that were showing some good action. Also saw a lot more eagles in the area, but none close enough to shoot. I also didn't have my long lens with me. Yes, it always rains in Oregon, except during the summer. The winters are generally pretty gloomy, but even then it's not constant rain. Of course, the coast is also it's own little ecosystem. Glad you enjoyed your visit, despite the screaming children.

Saguaro NP east section auto tour route is good. Of course early mourning is always important for birding, especially when it is the warm season in the desert. Spring season also comes early in the desert.

I was looking forward to this. 20+ years in Oregon and I've only see puffins at the aquarium. I may have to check out Cannon Beach again at low tide some day.

Good job on the video! I’ve been to most of those places myself.

Lots of bison there too.

I must have missed that you started with storm chasing. Sounds like fun, although there isn't usually much in the way of storms in Oregon. I grew up in the midwest though and always said that I was afraid of seeing a tornado... and not having my camera with me.

I really enjoy all your videos and appreciate the time and effort you put into them. I like that you aren't just a wildlife photographer. Your storm and landscape photos and adventures are just as much fun to watch as the wildlife. Thanks for all you do and stay safe out there.

Scott, cool video. I’ve got to get up to Brainard Lake. It’s been years. I used to go backpacking there without a reservation.

Have been up to Mount Blue Sky lately? I got a good shot of a White-tailed Ptarmigan a few weeks ago

Great video and solid information 👍

Im 17, from Colorado and relatively new to birding. I’m happy I found this video, has great info on where I can go to find new birds. I have a question, do you need any sort of passes to get into the arsenal?

Great video!

We get some of these birds in New Mexico too. I saw a Western Tanager this year, gorgeous! 😊❤ Mountain blue birds, very common in Edgewood, NM. I love owls, but not so much in my neighborhood. I feed the ravens, which mob and chase the owls away. I don't want my cat eaten by a Great Horned Owl.

Arsenal is way better if you hike it. It's a hidden gem, I don't think I've ever seen so many varieties of birds in one place.

Bummer about Costa Rica but Ecuador sounds great. Would still like to be able to meet up with you when you get to Oregon, but not sure it will work out. Hard to get away when other people are relying on the vehicle for transportation too. I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing the video of your adventures at the very least.

Volunteer work is awesome. I'm a photographer in Denver.