Wildlife Photographer Secrets: The Best, Strangest, and Most Horrific

As a wildlife photographer I see the most beautiful scenes as well as the most brutal. Too, I sometimes get to see some very strange scenes!

Just a heads up, there will be an image at the bottom of this page which features some gruesome stuff. If you don't want to see that then don't flip it over (it's hidden for now). I'm sharing it because seeing these things is the reality of being a wildlife photographer. 

Wildlife Photographer Secrets

Truthfully, there are few things in nature that are really secrets. However, there are often things that we wildlife photographers see which we don't share. At times this is because they're horrific but most often than not we're just not fast enough to catch them. As a result we either end up with out-of-focus footage or photos. Or, we end up with nothing at all. The following are some of my favorite untold stories of my life as a wildlife photographer.

Witnessing Amazing Scenes As A Wildlife Photographer

Over the years I've witnessed some truly amazing scenes as a wildlife photographer. Seeing newborn animals take their first steps or young birds fledge are rare and wonderful things. However, the light can often be poor. Alternatively, we can be stuck in a location where we can see what's happening but can't photograph it without disturbing the animals we're watching.

This is why I treasure the time I got to spend with Muppet the Owlet in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park in 2025.

Pileated Caring For Their Young

One other huge highlight was a few years ago when I got to see a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers caring for two nestlings. As a wildlife photographer you'll find that cavity nesting birds tend to build nests that face away from the sun. While this is probably great for sleeping in it means that the sun is often behind them when you go to photograph them near their holes. This is why I was so pumped to get this photo.

Pileated Woodpeckers are some of my favorite subjects. Plus, I've gotten to see them feed their young and even to see two fledge for the first time. It's really magical. However, I couldn't capture them due to the twigs and branches between us. One of these days I hope to get photos of those magical moments.

Limited Examples

I'm intentionally limiting my examples here. That said, I could go on and on. There are so many things I've actually photographed that I'd really love to share. However, I thought it was more important to share the misses with you. After all, as wildlife photographers you might feel like there's some secret that you're missing out on. In reality, we all have more misses than hits.

Strange Scenes in the Wild

While it's lovely to see parents with their young, sometimes it's the goofy pictures that I like the most. After all, it shows us that we're not alone in doing weird stuff when we think nobody is watching! For example, this Robin was really struggling to take home it's huge collection of worms. It kept dropping them, opening it's mouth to pick one up, another would wriggle out, and the process would repeat.

Deer Vs. Bird

I was photographing some wildlife in Pittsburgh's Frick Park in the Spring. It was nesting season which means birds get very protective of their nests. As a result, this deep was being attacked by an angry Redwing Blackbird presumably for wandering too close to it's nest.

Derpy Birds

I treasure these weird experiences and love to get goofy photos of animals deep derps. One favorite of mine is wading birds or raptors looking directly at me. Because their eyes tend to be set for them to find prey easily there's something so funny about them looking right at you.

Sad Wildlife Photography Moments

It's a fact of nature that animals eat other animals. Too, everything dies. As a result, being a wildlife photographer means we're going to see some gruesome stuff.

This same goofy hawk above looked at me like he did because he had a meal trapped under his talons. As such, he didn't want me to chase him off of it.

I've seen prey eaten more times than I can count. This is why I'm only showing this one image. While it's a fact of wildlife photography I don't usually show such photos. In fact, I don't often take such photos. However, the lighting and situation where I captured this photo was too good to pass up. Besides, this is nature. This is reality. Birds of prey, some of my favorites, do, in fact, eat cute cuddly things.

So, if you don't want to see it then stop reading and scrolling now. However, if you want to know all the secrets of wildlife photography or want to do wildlife photography yourself you're going to see this and a lot worst. In fact, I deliberately chose one of the least graphic images out of those I took of this situation.

Thanks for reading, regardless of what you do next!

I'm professional nature photographer Don Orkoskey. Be sure to take a look at my nature portfolio, bird photos, fine art, and the rest of my work. View the articles on my blog and be sure to follow me on social media accounts:

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