<![CDATA[CASSINETTO WILD ANIMALS - Cassinetto Photos Blogspot]]>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:14:29 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Yellowstone and Getting the Shot!]]>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 22:41:34 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/yellowstone-and-getting-the-shotPicture
​Yellowstone can be a crazy place to be in.  People say “go in early June, it’s not as crowded then.”  And, this is what I’ve done for many years, normally end of May and first week of June.  This year, in early June, the week after Memorial Day weekend, the park is packed, swarming with people and screaming kids.  I remind myself that everyone is there to have fun in some way but it can try my patience a bit at times. 

Yellowstone is famous for its surprise wildlife encounters, sometimes I don’t get the pic or a very good one anyway or the one I want.  One day, heading back to my base for lunch, I rounded a corner and was face-to-face with a very large bison traveling directly toward me.  At first I did not notice the calf at her right side as I slammed on the brakes but then I saw the baby, probably no more than an hour or so old, traveling along with its muzzle and body glued to mom’s side.  OMG cute, maybe one of the cutest things I’ve seen here.  I could imagine mom saying, “Just stay near Joey and we’ll be at the next pasture soon.” I can’t imagine the havoc she caused behind me with the intense traffic, rounded curves, and drop off heights as she calmy and quietly plodded along with the baby trotting as fast as it could to keep up.  An incredible site and I could not get a photo!

Then about five miles further on I swing around yet another curve and there is a group of four female elk tending to a very recently born calf to nudge him along down the hillside.  Again, we all throw on our brakes and come to a stop, this time I can pick up the camera and aim, holding the camera with one hand, toward the little group as they rallied around the calf, eventually nudging the calf away from the road and down the slope.​

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And yet on another day, just as I entered the park from the Gardiner side, almost right in front of me, is a baby pronghorn and mom.  The baby, most likely about three weeks old, is running around the cars, it's first sight of such large beasts, and doesn't want to follow mom, who is heading back to the herd.  I'm amazed I am the only photographer on the scene and there is only about 10 cars, everyone patiently waiting for the little guy to move away from the road and watching the drama unfold.  Finally she convinces the little one to follow her down the slope and out into the flatland. Crazy times in Yellowstone!

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]]><![CDATA[The Sandhill Crane "Colt"]]>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:26:01 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/the-sandhill-crane-coltEvery year a pair of Sandhill Cranes has chicks (actually not called chicks, but called colts instead)  just before the Lamar Valley area.  Sometimes as I drive by I spot them and other times they cannot be located.  I was able to stop once during the first week and then once again during the second week.  The chick, they only had one, had gown so much in that one week! It was crazy how bit it got.  

Sandhill Crane chicks grow rapidly, gaining about 1" per day in the first month.  In three months they are almost fully grown.  They are called "colts" because of their long, strong legs and their ability to run shortly after hatching.

The top two images are from the first week and the bottom images are from the second week.  You can see how much the youngster has grown. Look at those legs!

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]]><![CDATA[A mama moose almost makes a bad decision!]]>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:01:19 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/a-mama-moose-almost-makes-a-bad-decisionAs I was driving along the road that runs through Lamar Valley and on to Silver Gate I saw someone stopped alongside the road.  I jumped out to take a look (no cars were behind me) and asked them what they had seen. They said a moose across the river with calves.  I parked the car a bit further along the road and ran back.  Normally, at that point, there are a couple of bison in a very small meadow that dips to the the river below but thankfully they were not in the meadow at this point.  I made my way down the slope and sighted the mama moose with her two calves.  The calves were standing at the edge of the river watching mom.

The mama wanted to get across the river, which was running very fast, but the babies were standing on the edge and were not having any part of crossing that raging river.  The babies were smarter than the mom at this point.  The river would have certainly washed them away.  They were very young, probably just a few days old, and would not have had the strength to cross that river.  Mama tried four times to encourage them and they held their ground. Finally, she walked back to them and made her way back into the forest.  I was so glad I did not see the tragedy that might have happened.  
]]><![CDATA[Wildlife of Yellowstone National Park]]>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:53:36 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/wildlife-of-yellowstone-national-park​Wildlife of Yellowstone National Park is 70 pages filled with spectacular photographs by wildlife photographer Connie Cassinetto.  These are the photographs that you wish you had taken during your visit to Yellowstone National Park.  The book features large size images of bears to bison as well as many other animal species, including elk, pronghorn, badgers, marmots, coyotes, wolves, fox, Rocky Mountain sheep, Mountain goats, pika, weasel, and many different birds. This beautiful soft-bound book features all photographs on sturdy glossy paper that would also work as a matted and framed print.  This is a beautiful trip reminder to have on the coffee table or to buy for friends and relatives as a gift.
Buy Book
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]]><![CDATA[Mustangs in California]]>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:38:43 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/mustangs-in-california​Wild horses are being slaughtered as I write this, for food, for rodeo use, for personal use, for many reasons, most not in favor of the wild horse.  Over 40 years ago I sat at a rodeo and watched as mustangs were let out of the holding pen with a rider and the mustang, scared for its very life, jumped and twisted to get rid of the thing on its back.  The crowd thought it was great fun to watch as this poor animal fought for its life.  One of the mustangs actually broke its ankle doing this, it was put in a holding pen and most likely shot when the crowd left.  I viewed it in the holding pen.  That was the last rodeo I ever went to, it was brutal for me to watch.  These animals are a thing of beauty and grace, they form family units and lifelong friends in their herd, and we treat them with cruelty and brutality. This is still going on today all over the world. 
 
The herd I photographed is probably the White Mountain herd (it’s difficult to discern from the map and it does say the White Mountain Herd is east of Benton and the horses I photographed were west of Benton) and is a part of the White Mountain Wild Horse Territory.  There is another nearby herd called the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory herd but that seems to be on the west side of Hwy. 395 and near Mono Lake.  The White Mountain herd has been there, documented, since the 1870s.  The origin of the herd is unknown but could be from free-roaming ranch horses.  The herd is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and maybe in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management.  Herds in the U.S. are managed by the U.S. Forest Service but they may coordinate with other organizations since herds are widespread in some cases. The U.S. Forest Service lists 34 herds, in California, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah.  Most of the herds are in Nevada.  
 
The horses I photographed were all healthy and fat and seemed to be thriving.  I do know that there was approval to remove some mustangs from the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory this year from the area around Mono Lake, these horses could have been part of the original White Mountain Herd at some point but had strayed off to form their own small groups in other locations.  The notice on this roundup included the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and was conducted this year.  The management organizations determine what number of horses can be maintained in a specific area and then set the herd limits at that number, rounding up the rest over time to who knows what fate.  
]]><![CDATA[The Incredible Hummingbird]]>Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:30:47 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/the-incredible-hummingbird​The Incredible Hummingbird
A beautiful 52-page soft cover photo book with 47 large photographs, nearly 10" x 8", of hummingbirds at flowers and in-flight.  Includes text that provides some insight into the life of a hummingbird. All original photos by Connie Cassinetto.  This makes a great gift for that special person or a nice conversation piece on the coffee table.  The pages could also be removed and the image could be framed as an art print. If you love hummingbirds this is the book for you or for a friend or relative who also loves them!
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]]><![CDATA[Mini Book Available on the Lions of Tanzania, Africa]]>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/new-book-available-soonI've been making photo books for many years, but always for myself.  The books I've been making are large size coffee-table type books with full page spreads.

Recently, though, I decided to create books to sell retail.  My first book was on hummingbirds, called The Incredible Hummingbird.  Then I created a second book, a mini-book that is only 5" x 5", and was centered around the subject of lions in the Serengeti in Tanzania, Africa.  This book can be purchased  on Blurb.

​Visiting the Serengeti is a dream come true for many people and the lion is the king of the African savannah! The Serengeti is home to large prides of lions that roam the vast landscape seeking food and water, when they aren’t napping under a shade tree.  This small hard-cover photo book contains the photos you wish you'd taken with your cell phone on the trip but didn't! It's compact and affordable for gift-giving or browsing before bed.  There are 38 color photos of lions, all taken by me, and includes female and male lions, and plenty of cute cub photos, too! If you're a fan of lions this is a must-have book to add to your library. 
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]]><![CDATA[Island Foxes, Channel Islands]]>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:01:08 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/island-foxes-channel-islands​The Island Fox, living only on six Channel Islands off the coast of southern California, is tiny, the size of a cat. These foxes are about 12 inches in height and weigh only four to five pounds. The fox is a descendent of the mainland gray fox. No one knows how the foxes arrived on the islands, but people did live on the islands (Chumash were the native people) and they most likely transported them. The foxes have been living on the islands for perhaps 6,000 years based on fossil research.  Through the years their populations have both thrived and diminished (golden eagles killed a large majority of the population until the eagles were moved to someplace else), they almost become extinct due to the golden eagles.  In 2004 they were listed as federally endangered.  Since then, a fox recovery program has re-established the foxes on all of the islands.  Unlike the larger Gray Fox that only hunts at night these smaller foxes that have no predators hunt during the day, and often search around the campgrounds for food left behind so seeing them to photograph is relatively easy.  These foxes mate for life and seem to be very affectionate with one another.      
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]]><![CDATA[Sandhill cranes along the pacific flyway]]>Wed, 01 Nov 2023 15:56:42 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/sandhill-cranes-along-the-pacific-flyway​One of my favorite migratory waterbirds is the Sandhill Crane.  Sandhill Cranes are tall, elegant but also gangly birds, with gray-blue bodies and a crimson cap for adults.  These birds display mating rituals that include exuberant dances in the hopes of securing a mate.  The mating dance can include pumping their head, bowing, leaping into the air and a stretching of wings.  
 
Sandhill Cranes mate for life, which can mean 20 or more years together.  Some start breeding at two years old, but a crane may be seven years old before it breeds. A mated pair stay together year-round and the juveniles stay close by the parents for about 10 months after hatching.  The chicks, called colts, can leave the nest within eight hours of hatching, and can swim at that time.  
 
These birds live in small bogs, marshes, and prairies across North America and the southeastern United States.  They gather in various areas by the thousands, and into the tens of thousands, and can easily be heard from a distance as they call out to one another.  The early spring gathering of Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River in Nebraska is among the greatest wildlife spectacles on the continent, with over a quarter of a million birds present at one time.  
 
There are four major north-south flyways in North America.  The Pacific Flyway, through California, is one of the four major North American migration routes for birds, including waterfowl.  The flyway extends from Alaska and Canada, through California, and on to Mexico and South America.  The migration of many bird species takes place annually, north to south and south to north. Most species travel the same route each time, although the spring or fall route might vary, and at the same time each year, although routes are often predicated upon existing food sources and available water. 
 
The three other main routes for waterfowl are the East Atlantic Flyway, the Mississippi Flyway, and the Central Flyway; a lesser route is the Allegheny Front flyway in the central Appalachian Mountains. These flyways, or migration routes, are like freeways in the sky.  Often these flyways merge at various points and sometimes are not well-defined.  Thousands and thousands of birds travel thousands of miles each way to arrive at breeding or over-wintering grounds. 
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]]><![CDATA[Pt. Reyes National seashore]]>Sun, 01 Oct 2023 15:38:17 GMThttp://www.cassinettowildanimals.com/cassinetto-photos-blogspot/pt-reyes-national-seashorePt. Reyes seashore is not far from where I live in California but I had never photographed wildlife there until this past September.  I located a guide from the area and he drove me around to all of the places he knows where wildlife might be seen.  Getting a knowledgeable guide to show you around in the area where you want to photograph wildlife can make all the difference in getting a shot.  I can highly recommend Daniel Dietrich as a wildlife guide and he was so easy to be with and very helpful and knowledgeable about the wildlife. Bobcats are hard to find and hard to spot in the brush and my guide knew where they lived and hunted and how to spot them.  By the end of the second day I was able to also spot them in the grass, they blend into the background so well that they are difficult to spot.  Nature knew how to camouflage them completely.  My main intent was to get a decent shot of a bobcat but I was also able to get shots of river otters, egrets, night heron juveniles and owls and a very cute gopher, the animal that every predator hunts.  It was a wonderful two days getting to know the wildlife in the area and I hope to return with a longer lens next time, which is crucial to getting a decent shot. Here is a link to Daniel's website: https://www.pointreyessafaris.com/guide.

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