Last Frame: The Raccoon Visitor

“This white poplar tree has been one of my favorites since building our house on this wooded property,” Jessica Nelson explains. “I’ve always gazed out the back of my house looking at the massive tree cavity thinking it would be a wonderful place for wildlife to build a nest. Well, earlier in the year, I was lucky enough to see a mama raccoon emerge from this nesting area, and then a few weeks later, I got to witness her raccoon babies playing around this same cavity.

“This photo was taken a few months later when I believe one of the raccoon babies returned to its nesting spot to take an afternoon nap. I happened to be in the yard doing some nature photography when I spotted the raccoon taking a snooze way up in the tree cavity. The raccoon emerged for just a few minutes to check out what I was doing before settling back inside for more sleeping. It was quite dark in the woods that late afternoon, but I was still happy I was able to capture this wildlife shot.”

Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C at 562mm. Exposure: 1/200 sec., ƒ/7.1, ISO 12800.

See more of Jessica Nelson’s wildlife photography at instagram.com/gagglephotog.