for the last shot I was within 4 meters. porcupines move about as fast as sloths do in south america so there is never an issue getting close to them. if they are in a bush or a tree like this one was I you can litterally walk up to them within inches and they wont move. If they are on the ground you can walk right up to them as well... but if you block their path they will turn their butt towards you and start backing up into you till you move or until they can wack you with their tail and then you will move for sure. Same thing when they are in a tree.. they wont go anywhere but when you get within their comfort zone they will turn their back to you and if you get too close they will swipe you with their tail. Getting close is never an issue with them... the problem is them turning their back to you if threatened and that isnt really a great photo angle
Im itching to get out more but we just keep getting more and more snow and we rarely see the sun these days. Now many of you may be used to a lot of clouds and rain or snow in the winter but here in the middle of the prairies we are used to a lot of sun. Saskatoon, the city nearest me has the most amount of sunshine per year in canada and gets the third most in all of north america so we arent used to all this cloud and snow. I'll brave the 40+ below temps.. just give me a bit of sun
I have been watching this guy for a while now and have him figured out pretty well. He is usually feeding every day between 1pm and 5pm... outside of those times I rarely see him. I found his den a bit ago and followed all his trails leading away from it. He never seems to wonder more than 100 meters away from the den. There are also several coyote tracks in the area and at least 2 signs of a scuffle. Judging by the look of his tail area and the lack of and number of broken quills he has defiantely had a few encounters with something this winter which explains why his is so defencive as well. Im just hoping he doesnt have too many more runins with other things or he will relocate his den. I'd love to have 3 or 4 more photo ops with him when sunny to get that perfect porcupine shot. I now know what I am looking for in that shot its just a matter of him cooperating which I should be able to nail within a few visits on sunny days.
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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin
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