Yellowstone (Part 4) For the Birds and More

Beautiful white pelican in flight. These birds enjoy Yellowstone in the spring and summer.

They feed in the large, slow moving rivers of the Yellowstone plateau. They herd fish into small eddies and stab them with their beaks, catching them in their hanging pouch.  After the water drains out of the pouch, they swallow the fish whole.

A Yellow Headed Blackbird at the edge of Swan Lake. These birdies like marshy areas. They're smaller than their Red Winged Blackbird cousins, and not very common to find.

This Blue Grouse would have been a little perturbed to be disturbed, just above Yellowstone Lake one evening, so we kept our distance.  He was in the midst of a mating dance display. He didn't let us deter him for long, and watching him prance up and down on the ground with his neck puffed out and his tail feathers up and wiggling was excellent entertainment. A deep, almost purring sound came from his throat while in the midst of his dance. Blue Grouse are not nesters, their chicks are up and running quickly after birth, and their mothers provide warmth and protection, and take their young to places where they teach them about good things to eat. Blue Grouse are native to Yellowstone.

Intense color in nature is best defined by the male mountain Bluebird. There's certainly no camouflage here in the spring, they stand out in contrast at Yellowstone. They feed on insects in the grasses. This one is a male. Females show blue only on the rump, tail, and wings. Bluebirds are cavity nesters, sometimes nest in old woodpecker holes.

Ruddy duck in motion. These birds are very active on the lake, with constant and fast movements. They dive to feed on small animals like worms, snails, and insects living in the water.

A male Barrows Goldeneye caught sunbathing on the rock surrounded by the rushing waters.

And here you see he's sharing his rock with a female. These Barrows Goldeneye forage by diving and swimming underwater, rarely spending time in the shallows. These two would mainly be eating insects, dragonflies larvae, and plant life.

A rare sighting of American Avocet swimming in a small lake at Yellowstone. These birds are waders, in the stilt family, and would normally be wading in the shallows.

I learned early in the trip that these aren't Crows, as we have so many of in the Pacific Northwest. These are Ravens, and the two types of birds are different. I noticed right away that Ravens are bigger than even our largest crows. Ravens can be as big as a Red Tailed Hawk. Ravens often travel in pairs, Crows travel in murders (groups). Their tails are also shaped differently, instead of beathers the same length, Ravens' middle tail feathers are longer. Ravens also make a different, lower croaking sound.

This proud Raven was eyeing our field breakfast, and biding his time in the hopes we'd leave something behind for him.

This Marmot was scampering around his rocky den, and cautiously watching his surroundings. In Yellowstone these Yellow Bellied Marmots, as they're called, are mammals. They feed on grasses, seeds, and insects, and in the circle of life, they're prey for coyotes, grizzlies, and golden eagles. They hibernate up to 8 months. The males are very territorial, watch out if one is slowly wagging his tail back and forth.

Ground Squirrel peeking out from the safety under a large rock. These cute rodents are found all over the Park. They eat plants, seeds, buds, roots, nuts, bird eggs, insects and carrion. They look for hiding places from coyotes, weasels, hawks and grizzly bears. They hibernate from October to April.

Ground Squirrel on the alert.

This fine pair of Bald Eagles were seen in the Hayden Valley.  Bald Eagles are one of a dozen raptors in Yellowstone. In 1967 they were on the Endangered Species list. They were removed in 2007. They feed primarily on fish and waterfowl, and nest in large trees near water. They bond for long term pairs.

Yellowstone Lake at sunset.

Can you just see him in the overgrowth? He's a Black Wolf, crouching in tall grass by a log. He was watching a small herd of bison. Nearby on top of another log was a Raven who was watching the Black Wolf. I spy with my little eye . . . .

Bear With Me, Yellowstone (Part 3)

Black bear and her cubs.

These cubs are from this year.  Bear cubs are born in the deep winter months of January and February, while thir mother still hibernated.  In March and April they begin to venture out with their mother as she digs for roots, insects, and looks for squirrels.  They have phenomenal energy and attention spans lasting seconds.

Grizzly bears are usually seen in open areas.  Montana has the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states.  Black bears are most often along the edges of wooded areas in the Lamar and Hayden valleys, or amoung the trees near Mammoth and Tower.

The American black bear can be black, brown, or even white.  All I saw on my trip were black.  Black bears are the only native bear of North America.

Here's another mama black bear and her cub we saw.

The cute bear cub

At one point the adorable cub was prancing and a little dancing, he just couldn't contain his energy.

Black bears are smaller than grizzlies, with adult males weighing between 210 and 315 pounds and females between 135 and 200 pounds.  Black bears have few natural predators.

Black bears eat almost anything including grasses, fruits, tree cambium (thin outside layer), eggs, insects, fish, elk calves, and carrion.  Males and females without cubs are solitary except during the mating season, May to early July.  Both genders usually begin breeding at age four.  Females experience delayed implantation, where the embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus, but is maintained in a state of dormancy.  No development takes place during this delay and so normal gestation is extended.  This reproductive strategy is used by almost 100 different mammals.

While we were in bear country, we were privileged to visit Dan and Cindy Hartman at their gallery, Wildlife Along the Rockies.  Dan has guided for National Geographic as well as BBC films.  His photography, and stories of the wildlife are thrilling.  I enjoy his wildlife photos tremendously.  If you want a glimpse, a real treat, look at Wildlife Along The Rockies
And now I've been photographed by Dan Hartman, you can see here!  I'm standing next to a tree just outside the Gallery.  Just look at those real bear claw marks!

Black bears may live 15 - 30 years.  They can run up to 45 mph.  They can climb trees, but their curved claws and weight makes this difficult.  They can swim, and run uphill and downhill.  And the cubs can dance!

Yellowstone Celebration (Part 2)

Spring in Yellowstone, glorified by Canada geese and their goslings floating on one of the meandering meadow creeks. These babies will stay very close to an adult and a safe spot. They're reared on grasslands and meadows. Eggs are laid in March and April, hatching in April and May, so these goslings are very young. On average each nest has  3 or 4 hatchlings. 

Spring in Yellowstone, glorified by Canada geese and their goslings floating on one of the meandering meadow creeks. These babies will stay very close to an adult and a safe spot. They're reared on grasslands and meadows. Eggs are laid in March and April, hatching in April and May, so these goslings are very young. On average each nest has  3 or 4 hatchlings. 

Spring in Yellowstone, glorified by Canada geese and their goslings floating on one of the meandering meadow creeks. These babies will stay very close to an adult and a safe spot. They're reared on grasslands and meadows. Eggs are laid in March and April, hatching in April and May, so these goslings are very young. On average each nest has  3 or 4 hatchlings. 

Calves begin turning brown and develop the distinctive bison hump after a few months. Male bison don't participate in the upbringing of the calves.  Bison have few natural predators because of their size, but wolves, mountain lions and bears do attack the very young or very old bison.  Less than 50% of bison calves survive to 1 year old.  Nature is a brutal world.  A bison calf can break a leg, drown in a river, or be eaten by a wolf.

Home, home on the range. Bison are herbivores, feeding on grasses year round.  Unlike domestic cattle that can eat all the grasses down where they stand and just leave dirt, bison keep moving as they graze before all is eaten.  They generally rest and digest during the day, grazing in the mornings and evenings, and of course they drink water.  Bison appear slow especially from their size. You may be surprised to hear they're actually fast runners. They can run up to 35 mph, as fast as a horse.  And they're very agile, even able to jump fences. You always want to remember to keep a safe distance; use a zoom camera lens.

Bison calf swimming in the water. It took some encouragement from mama to convince this month old (or younger) calf to get in.  He was reluctant to get in the shallow water, deep enough that he had to swim, but mama was determined to move over to a little island in the middle of the stream, so off he went rather than be left behind.

Here the mama's approach the island, and you can see a little calf swimming next to one, perhaps asking for a little help.

Welcome to the island everyone.

And perhaps a congratulatory kiss.

Rare sight of a red fox. He's looking pretty big too, which may be due to his fluffy fur being puffed out. He was more interested in something before him in the distance than in posing for my camera behind him. Seen in the Hayden Valley, the typical habitat is edges of sagebrush/grassland and within forests. The average life span varies from 3-7 years, and up to 11 years in Yellowstone.  Foxes bark, seldom howls.  They eat voles, mice, rabbits, birds, amphibians and other small animals.

A quick blur of a look to the side before he trotted off.

An osprey on her nest. Usually they live near lakes, such as Yellowstone Lake, and in river valleys such as Hayden, Madison, Firehole, and Lamar Valleys all in Yellowstone.  They're also found in river canyons such as Gardiner Canyon and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River - where this osprey nested.

Here the osprey has walked out on the limb overlook.  Yellowstone is home to over 70 species of birds including trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, loons, peregrine falcons, osprey, bald eagles, and so on . . .

A nest with a view, the osprey nest is out in the middle of the grand canyon of Yellowstone.

We saw so many bison stretched all across the Lamar Valley in particular, in multiple meadows.  At one point the bison herd was crossing from hill to meadow and 2 bison butted heads and locked horns a little, but nothing serious between them this time of year.  One evening, looking up above the herd we saw a Northern Harrier Hawk swooping in all directions and floating regally on air.  This raptor can stand still in flight, inspiring the name of the Harrier plane.

Beauty in motion

At home by Slough Creek