Scouting for Wildlife in Big Bend National Park | National Geographic

So it looks like we got some animal activity already. Hold on. Don't come down any further. We're here at probably one of the most beautiful spots that you can see in Big Bend National Park, Santa Elena Canyon. I am scouting for National Geographic right now, looking for some native wildlife. You get a lot of swifts coming through here. There's warblers. Right now it's the peregrine falcon migration. It's a birders’ paradise.

Being a photographer is all about putting yourself in position to capture the best images. Sometimes the being there is the hard part because the access can be extremely challenging. But I have everything I need. I want to see if I can reach some of these harder to get to areas. We're on our way right now to meet Ranger Tom. Park Rangers not only understand the layout of the place, but they know exactly the behavior of the animal that you're trying to find, and exactly where to find it.

All right. How you doing, Tom? Good to see you again. Awesome to see you, my friend. This is a really great place, actually. Probably one of the more productive areas is along the river. And then I would absolutely stop at Mule Ears Overlook and the Chisos Mountains. Appreciate you. This is exactly why I love Big Bend, because around every corner is a completely different landscape. We've got rivers, we've got mountains, we've got desert.

That brings an eclectic character group when it comes to wildlife. But things like black bears, pumas, bobcats, they're really difficult to see with your own eyeballs. So I've set camera traps all up and down Big Bend National Park. Whenever an animal walks by, the camera takes a photo. It's always like Christmas morning when you check a trap camera. Let's go get some mud on these tires.

The first time I came to Big Bend, we did it by horseback. I've got a lot more horsepower this time around. Pop this long lens on, charge some batteries, and then hopefully go and find some wildlife. Hold on. Don't come down any further because we got some animal tracks right here. That's definitely coyote. You can always tell the difference between cat and dog paw marks because dogs don't retract their claws when they walk.

They’re going to come in here to snag some water, and that's why we got the trap camera right there. Set it back up. Let me check my frame. The only way to do that is to become the cat. Perfect. Settling into a circumstance where all you do is have hope that it's going to turn out okay and rely on your skill set, your passion, and your motivation to get you through - that is where the magic happens.

Oh, look at all these swifts right now. They're all just over our heads. Oh, what a cool bird. If I was a swift, this is where I would live. The biggest question I get is how difficult is my job? And maybe for someone else it might be, you know, one of the most challenging things you can think of. But I couldn't think of anything else I would rather do on the planet. It's the easiest job in the world because it’s where my passion drives me to be is out there in nature chasing that next wildlife encounter.