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 . . . .