Benezette: Not a lot of bull

Our annual pilgrimage to Benezette during the first week in October wasn't as favorable as past years. This year's half-day trip had my husband and I seeing more people than elk.

We had traveled on a Thursday evening in an effort to avoid the crowds, but there was still a generous amount of people there even for a weekday. 

Compared to last year, the herds did not seem as big.

​The elk were further away and located toward the wood lines.
​However we still managed to see some elk and the day wasn't a total loss.

​I almost missed seeing one cow as she was browsing in a small ravine. 

Last year, I was fortunate to be able a get a nice photo of one large bull elk that was grazing by the road.

One of the other elk viewers suggested that I could walk down closer to get a better shot.

​I politely reminded her that the land was posted and the property owner didn't want folks past the sign. ​

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on its website offers several tips for elk viewing etiquette.

One of the tips is to keep elk at a distance.

The commission said to give elk at least 100 yards especially during breeding season. The commission also asked viewers not to stop on the road to view elk and not to block private driveways or property.

Folks also should avoid yelling and loud noises that may disturb the elk. 
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The commission was also very adamant about warning that people should never feed or try to pet the elk.

While the elk are the main draw for the area, other wildlife can be viewed as well.
We observed a lot of bluebirds and other feathered friends. It was nice to see some bluebirds since they seemed to have disappeared from our yard at home.

Previous years I have seen monarchs and other butterflies at the Woodring farm area. However this year, it seemed that the plants at the farm were dead or dying. It could be due to frost or the fact that the area was suffering from lack of rain.

It was added to a state drought watch in September. It was obvious from just looking around that the ponds and streams were down a good three or four feet from where they normally were. 

While Elk County is a little ahead of Venango County when it comes to the changing of leaf color, it seemed that fall foliage was also suffering. However, there still were a few colorful trees. The trip along Interstate 
80 from Shippenville to DuBois was absolutely spectacular as far as bright hues.

After looking for elk all day, it seemed strange to not to see them closer to home. It's funny how only a few counties away live these massive beasts that feed on much of the same foods that the whitetails eat. They just consume a lot more of it.

Speaking of whitetails, the trail camera at home is outdoing me on the deer photos again. On Oct. 16, it captured a lovely shot of a running buck against an autumn backdrop. After posting it on Pennsylvania Wildlife 
Trailcams Facebook page several folks kindly posted favorable comments on it. 

It's hard not to be just a little jealous of some of the photos the trail camera captures.

However with the trail camera, it is more of being there at the right time and place. Again, the device is much more dedicated about wildlife photography than I am. It's out in the weather 24/7 strapped to a tree waiting for any kind of motion to snap a photo. Nonetheless, I am happy to have it do some of the dirty work if it means being able to glimpse some scenes that would have normally remain unseen. 
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Guess that is just the nature of things 'round here. ​​​