Memorial Weekend Bruin

[Ted]

I've been really bad at posting trip reports lately. Still need to do one from my recent Baja trip with MarkBC. But we had a good getaway over the weekend so thought I'd put up a quick report. A few years ago we went in search of OR7 while he was touring California. During that trip we found a remote reed filled pond that had some nice bird life. Since then we have returned to this spot a couple of times. It was a good place to go on holiday weekends because we never saw anyone else there. So that is where we started this weekend.

With the drought the pond was even smaller now and the bird life limited. So on Sunday we went exploring. We found another reservoir with much more water. There were no tire tracks on the road in, no human footprints anywhere, and no evidence anyone had been there in years. There were lots of deer tracks and even some bear prints. On the water were lots of ducks and geese. Seemed like a good spot so we set up camp.
We ended up having the place to ourselves so this may be our new holiday getaway spot. Spent some time practicing taking photos with my big lens. I still have a long way to go before I'm posting in the wildlife thread, but they are good enough for a TR.

The Lassen area had a big storm in February. It was hard to believe the number of trees down. In this one photo there are eight rootballs and a few snapped above ground.

Shot some photos of little things.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Ted, I look forward to your photos!

Yes, the Lassen area was really hammered. We came through about a week after. Thousands of trees down west of Susanville. Cal DOT was still working on getting the road cleared.

 

[Ted]

It has been so long since a TR I'm having problems. Think I got it worked out. Internet Explorer and Mozilla don't play nice when mixed.

Some of the birds around. I was really surprised to find a couple of pairs of cranes. Thought they were winter visitors only.

 

[Ted]

But the highlight was when this fellow came to visit. Yes, he was as big as he looks.

 

[MarkBC]

Very cool, Ted -- especially the bear! He's a burly fellow!

Coincidentally, just last night I was at a BBQ with some outdoor people and we were discussing which would be most likely to attack -- black bear or brown bear. A friend who's kayaked in arctic Alaska reported that when brown bears saw her they ran off. And I reported that when a black bear saw me in the Warner Mts he ran off. So, with those two conclusive data points, I guess they're both OK, if a little stand-offish.

Did your bear notice you and react to you in any way?

 

[Ted]

We were downwind, sitting under the awning, me with a camera and Mrs. Ted with binoculars. We were still as it approached so it never saw movement. Kept looking in our direction, I presume because the object (truck and camper) were not familiar. Finally about 150 yards out he just veered off and went up into the trees.

Because of no cubs I was not concerned. We have seen several bears lately and as soon as they saw us they ran away as fast as they could. I'm sure if either of us stood up this one would have done the same.

For the arguement of what if it kept coming, there would be some warnings from a bear. Huffing or clicking the teeth for example. If it kept coming, didn't run when we stood up, or did any warnings, we would simply have gotten in the truck. Unless he has spent time in Yosemite, I doubt he knows how to get in a vehicle.

 

[Lighthawk]

Good job, Ted! You got some great bear photos.
The birding photos will come along as you get more familiar with your lens/camera.

I don't know how long a focal length you have (300?), but keeping your shutter speed at 1/1000th or faster can help.
Sometimes when the light is poor, you just need to crank up the iso, which can be another challenge to process.

We saw cranes in Sierra Valley the same weekend. Amazing call they have.

 

[Smokecreek1]

More fun times for the "Teds", and the bear makes for the perfect trip-right(as long as they don't stop by for a chat and visit)-right? Black bears seem to run when they see you-most of the time that is-although from what I know black bears (any bear) when they start to get use to humans, things change, usually to bad for the bear. I've worked around them for years and have had no problem unless I left a dirty camp with lot's of food left out. You respect them they respect you (hopefully)! Can we start telling bear stories here or is that a hijack and we need to go on one of our many bear threads ?

Smoke

 

[MarkBC]

...
Coincidentally, just last night I was at a BBQ with some outdoor people and we were discussing which would be most likely to attack -- black bear or brown bear. A friend who's kayaked in arctic Alaska reported that when brown bears saw her they ran off. And I reported that when a black bear saw me in the Warner Mts he ran off. So, with those two conclusive data points, I guess they're both OK, if a little stand-offish.

...

...Can we start telling bear stories here or is that a hijack and we need to go on one of our many bear threads ?

Sorry for planting the seed of a bear-related hijack. Feel free to delete the bear-baiting part of my post.

Yeah, there are plenty of other bear-related topics already for posting on.

 

[Smokecreek1]

you are no fun Mark !

Smoke

 

[takesiteasy]

Yes, a healthy looking bear! Fun to see. I enjoyed your report- looks like a great spot.

 

[GroovyDad]

Awesome to have a bear sighting, now you just have to find Bigfoot!

 

[craig333]

I haven't seen a bear since I got my Nikon Must be a part of Lassen I'm not familiar with.

 

[ski3pin]

Camus Lilly is one the the Lady's favorites flowers, she loves how they close up at night and open again in the morning. Great to see a trip report from my friend Ted! It is always wonderful to see wildlife and a nice big bruin tops the list. Thanks!

Oh, any wolf tracks?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Wow, great bear images! The last is my favorite!!

 

[Taku]

That is a nice bear. As for aggressiveness, you probably need to differentiate between defensive attacks (sows with cubs, surprise encounter at close range, etc.) and predatory attacks. Black bears seem to be more known for predatory attacks, while I think grizz are probably more aggressive in the defensive attacks. Polar bears are a whole 'nother story...