Stag Do…YELLOWSTONE, USA (13 Oct)

This trip to Yellowstone had held two objectives for me; to see a swathe of North American mammals, many of which I had not yet seen, and to try and find a Great Grey Owl. On both fronts the trip had been an unquestionable success. I had thought there was a good chance we could miss the owl – the Internet is flooded with people who’d experienced this as a foreboding warning, and so I was well aware that was not a given. However, we had accomplished arguably our most challenging task, and I had seen almost all of the mammals in the park that I had not yet seen before (i.e. Black and Grizzly Bears, and Bison). However, there was one glaring omission on our mammal list, and one that Yellowstone is especially famed for: Wolf. In spite of travel to various continents, I was still wolfless, (I have never managed to catch up with the Tibetan one on my travels to the Far East). Seeing Wolves in Yellowstone is said to be not that difficult with the aid of a good ‘scope (check, I had my trusty Swarovski along for this reason), and being observant of human behavior. For in the park there is a pack of people, let’s call them “Wolfers” or the “Wolf Pack”, who have dedicated their time to tracking the wolves, and know the individual groups and animals. By observing the wolfers, you have a good chance of finding the wolves themselves. The known park hotspots for the wolves are the Lamar Valley and the Hayden Valley. The day before we had arrived at the Lamar a little tardy – we fancied a hot breakfast after all – only to find out a wolf pack had crossed the road shortly before our arrival! Thus, on this day we skipped breakfast and were in the Lamar Valley early. However, we were not alone, the Wolfers and their followers were out in force too, and this could only be good news. If the Wolfers are absent, the chances are, so are the Wolves, as this subgroup of animal watchers are connected by high tech radio, and are rarely far from their mammalian muse. Like us, they came armed with top end scopes for the job, and they were clearly trained on something as we arrived. Soon enough, we were able to watch a pack of 8 Wolves lolling about on the hillside. They were a quarter of a mile away, but fantastic to see howling with the scope trained on them. The group consisted of 5 black animals and 3 grey ones. I would dearly loved to have photographed them, but all the same, I had my wolf.

Having put another mammal to bed, the day was more relaxed from then on. We tried to track down a Moose, but in spite of checking known hotspots, which even included the yard of a small town church, this beast proved elusive, in spite of its considerable size. In the afternoon, as our time in Yellowstone was slowly drawing to a close, we finally came upon a Pronghorn, which did not display its usual speedy prowess, and calmly foraged by the road, making for a great chance to photograph a lone male. I lingered a little longer than was probably healthy with this animal, and was made to pay, when we re-met with Jim Chagares, who had just seen a Black Bear moments before. 

Our check of this area, did yield the same ram Bighorn Sheep from a few days before (photos were taken then), but no Black Bear, which appeared to be undergoing a particularly elusive spell during our time in Yellowstone. When leaving a place that has left indelible memories and brought great times, (like this Coyote from a few days before there), you always wish for a finale, a curtain call, something to leave you heading home with a feeling of ultimate fulfillment. And so it was with Yellowstone; as we neared leaving the park, there on the road verge was a magnificent male Elk, with the widest load available. Its rack must have measured six feet across, which made it in the upper realms for the species. This was the end we craved, and we left soon after, knowing full well we had left somewhere very special behind us. 

As we left Gardiner, Montana, the next day for Bozeman airport, we stopped in on the local Grizzly Bear cubs, which were not feeding as close to the road as they had been a few days before, when this photo was taken...

Bear Necessities…YELLOWSTONE USA (10 Oct)

As all good wildlife people know it pays to be out early (and late), as that is often when animals or birds are most active in a place like Yellowstone National Park. And so, we left the hotel in the dark and pulled up at the picturesque spot of Swan Lake as the sky was blushed pink, signifying the arrival of dawn. It was a beautiful and tranquil scene; all was calm, save for a few ripples on the lake caused by the early morning movements of a pair of Trumpeter Swans disturbing the glassy surface of the water. 

Few other animals were in evidence though, so, once dawn had made way for daytime, we continued on to a must-see site within the park…Old Faithful, the largest cone geyser in the World, which can reach over 130 feet on occasions. However, our progress to this explosive spot was halted when a classic Yellowstone sight blocked our way, and peaked our interest: a huddle of cars was stopped untidily on the roadside. In Yellowstone, this is often the easiest path to seeing wildlife; drive slowly, scouring the roads for human indications of other animals. This particular jam had been caused by a sow Grizzly Bear that had brought her cub up to the roadside to forage. Bears are busy at this time fattening up for the onset of winter, when they go into hibernation for the hardiest months. The car huddle was soon tidied up by a zealous park ranger (sadly they are often a little overzealous there), and we watched as the pair of bears slowly made their way out of sight of the road.

Arriving at Old Faithful, we found a series of seats (a permanent fixture) had been set up, not unlike a sporting event, for witnessing the geyser’s famously regular eruptions. We also found TV screens predicting when the next “performance” would be: 12:10pm. The geyser erupts every 70 minutes or so through the day, and while not quite as faithful as it used to be, it still remains predictable enough. On arriving at the site, well before the next spurt, we found the seating to be largely empty, but come midday, they were packed with hundreds of people; an expectant crowd, committed to the time that the screens had informed them of. This was proven to be pretty accurate, when Old Faithful went off within a few minutes of the scheduled time, an impressive sight greeted with all the delight of a sporting crowd, if a little quieter. No Mexican Waves were observed, but plenty of celebration ensued. 

For lunch, we stopped off at a campsite, hoping for a Gray Jay or one of the park’s plentiful Clark’s Nutcrackers to come in and investigate our picnic spread, but instead just getting a murder of crows. Or more specifically, a pair of Common Ravens, seemingly one of the most abundant species in the park at this time, when many of the breeding species have vacated Yellowstone for the winter.

Much of the rest of our day was spent fruitlessly searching for another Great Grey Owl, at other hallowed spots in the park, with no reward. As we perused the park though we came upon the regular, quintessential scenes of mighty Bison grazing on the road verges, and kept our eyes out for other animals. We stopped in on a regular pair of Grizzly Bears at another spot, which had become so reliable, they have come to name the mother bear (“Strawberry”), although for some reason, the cub she was with bore no name. We ended the day outside the park, and in another state, for on leaving the park each day, we crossed out of Wyoming and back into Montana. Near the town of Gardiner, where we were staying, we checked in on a local pair of wild, orphaned Grizzly Bear cubs, which were fortunately feeding close to the road, as the day began to wane. On the way back to Gardiner, a recent roadside deer kill was being attended by America’s largest raptor, a Golden Eagle to close the day.

Bear Necessities…YELLOWSTONE USA (10 Oct)

As all good wildlife people know it pays to be out early (and late), as that is often when animals or birds are most active in a place like Yellowstone National Park. And so, we left the hotel in the dark and pulled up at the picturesque spot of Swan Lake as the sky was blushed pink, signifying the arrival of dawn. It was a beautiful and tranquil scene; all was calm, save for a few ripples on the lake caused by the early morning movements of a pair of Trumpeter Swans disturbing the glassy surface of the water. 

Few other animals were in evidence though, so, once dawn had made way for daytime, we continued on to a must-see site within the park…Old Faithful, the largest cone geyser in the World, which can reach over 130 feet on occasions. However, our progress to this explosive spot was halted when a classic Yellowstone sight blocked our way, and peaked our interest: a huddle of cars was stopped untidily on the roadside. In Yellowstone, this is often the easiest path to seeing wildlife; drive slowly, scouring the roads for human indications of other animals. This particular jam had been caused by a sow Grizzly Bear that had brought her cub up to the roadside to forage. Bears are busy at this time fattening up for the onset of winter, when they go into hibernation for the hardiest months. The car huddle was soon tidied up by a zealous park ranger (sadly they are often a little overzealous there), and we watched as the pair of bears slowly made their way out of sight of the road.

Arriving at Old Faithful, we found a series of seats (a permanent fixture) had been set up, not unlike a sporting event, for witnessing the geyser’s famously regular eruptions. We also found TV screens predicting when the next “performance” would be: 12:10pm. The geyser erupts every 70 minutes or so through the day, and while not quite as faithful as it used to be, it still remains predictable enough. On arriving at the site, well before the next spurt, we found the seating to be largely empty, but come midday, they were packed with hundreds of people; an expectant crowd, committed to the time that the screens had informed them of. This was proven to be pretty accurate, when Old Faithful went off within a few minutes of the scheduled time, an impressive sight greeted with all the delight of a sporting crowd, if a little quieter. No Mexican Waves were observed, but plenty of celebration ensued. 

For lunch, we stopped off at a campsite, hoping for a Gray Jay or one of the park’s plentiful Clark’s Nutcrackers to come in and investigate our picnic spread, but instead just getting a murder of crows. Or more specifically, a pair of Common Ravens, seemingly one of the most abundant species in the park at this time, when many of the breeding species have vacated Yellowstone for the winter.

Much of the rest of our day was spent fruitlessly searching for another Great Grey Owl, at other hallowed spots in the park, with no reward. As we perused the park though we came upon the regular, quintessential scenes of mighty Bison grazing on the road verges, and kept our eyes out for other animals. We stopped in on a regular pair of Grizzly Bears at another spot, which had become so reliable, they have come to name the mother bear (“Strawberry”), although for some reason, the cub she was with bore no name. We ended the day outside the park, and in another state, for on leaving the park each day, we crossed out of Wyoming and back into Montana. Near the town of Gardiner, where we were staying, we checked in on a local pair of wild, orphaned Grizzly Bear cubs, which were fortunately feeding close to the road, as the day began to wane. On the way back to Gardiner, a recent roadside deer kill was being attended by America’s largest raptor, a Golden Eagle to close the day.

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