Hangin' Out

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk

 

[Click on any photo to enlarge.]

We’ve become quite accustomed to elk hanging out in the campground, but one morning we had the pleasure of about a dozen bison including a couple of calves enjoying the morning shade.  They hung around most of the morning,
       and though we were working, Russ watched the office for a few minutes while I ran to get our camera and get some shots.  Eventually they started moseying through the campground, grazing
        as they went, checking out the campsites, and making themselves quite at home.  We always tell people….remember, the park belongs to the animals, and we are merely the visitors.

 

    As for the elk, they love to hang out in the campground mainly because there aren't many predators.  Now that it's calving season, the cows feel fairly safe bringing their calves here and stashing them among the sage or next to someone’s tent or a rock or even the restroom.  And though most of the time you might not see where the calf is stashed,
mama knows where it is and will charge at anyone whom she feels is getting too close.  After all, to her we could be a predator of sorts. But this time of year it’s so fun to see the young calves with their spotted coats hanging out, learning the ways of life, and hopefully staying safe.  Sometimes we even get lucky enough to see two little ones playing together and chasing each other, under their moms’ watchful eyes of course.

It's not only the animals who enjoying hanging out.  Of course we humans enjoy do too. Sometimes, like these folks, it can be standing on a hill early on a spring evening after a gentle rain under a beautiful rainbowed sky or maybe simply sitting on the bank of the river as it roars by.  However you choose to hang, just enjoy.




 

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Bison: male (bull) weighs up to 2,000 lbs., female (cow) up to 1,000 lbs., calves can run with the herd 2 - 3 hours after birth.
• Elk: male (bull) weighs about 700 lbs., female (cow) about 500 lbs., and calf about 30 lbs. at birth.
• Osprey: Eggs hatch in 4 - 5 weeks and the young can fly when 7 - 8 weeks old.
• In the air an osprey will position a fish they are carrying so its head is pointed forward to reduce air resistance.

What A Day!

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane

[Click on any photo to enlarge.] 

Black Bear

We left the RV about 6:15 in the morning hoping to see some critters in the Lamar Valley, and critters we did see!!  Over the next 7 hours we saw all of the following:  elk, bison, black bear, fox with her 2 kits (pups), 2 bald eagles, 2 grizzlies, 3 coyotes, Canada geese, ospreys in


Ospreys

       their nest, pronghorn, 3 sandhill cranes, a black wolf, bighorn sheep (including 18 rams!), and a black black bear with her 2 cinnamon colored cubs!!  I wasn’t able to get photos of everything because some were too far to be seen without a scope so definitely a photo would not come out very well at all (mainly the

Bison at Soda Butte

bald eagles, grizzlies, and wolf).  However, it was fairly easy to get several others especially the fox and her kits where there were probably about 100 photographers lined up shoulder to shoulder, tripod to tripod all taking hundreds of the same shots with their huge camera lenses…pretty funny!  I just stood behind with my little camera and got what shots I could.  All in all it was a great day, and we hope you enjoy some of the pics we did get!



Red Fox Kits

Red Fox Vixen

Coyotes

Sandhill Crane

Black Bear & her cinnamon cubs

Bighorn Sheep Ewe



Bighorn Sheep Rams

All 18 Bighorn Rams!

                 Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states.
• Bighorn ram horns can weigh more than 40 lbs.
• An adult red fox weighs about 9-15 lbs. Females are vixens, males are dogs, and offspring are kits.
• Black and grizzly bears can range in color from black to brown to cinnamon to blonde.

The Thrill Of The Chase

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet

 

[Click on any photo to enlarge.]
 

For right now there are only 2 sets of campground hosts, so we are working 3 days and then off 3 days, which still gives us time to venture out into the park.  On one of those off days we loaded Abby into the car and headed out towards Roaring Mountain where we had heard there was a grizzly sow (female) and her 3 cubs.  Sure

enough the pullout across from Roaring was full of cars, and just down the hill we could see a number of people with scopes.  As we joined them, we learned that about a mile down the valley the bears were grazing in the open meadow.  This is the best picture I could get with my camera all the way zoomed in and photo cropped, but you can at least make them out.

On our way back, we stopped at Rustic Falls, which is only about 5 miles from the campground, for a quick snapshot.  There was definitely more water flowing over than we've seen in the past, and what's amazing is the tiny stream from which it comes.  From there
     we decided to drive through the YCC housing area and there finally found several bison calves with their families.  They are so cute when they are little and look so much like baby cows!

 

   The next day we headed out to Lamar Valley, and along the way took the little side road towards the Petrified Tree.  We’ve had luck in the past seeing a grizzly or moose, and once again we were lucky enough to see this bull moose

      grazing on the hillside just below the road.  As we drove back to the main road, we had to stop not for any bear or bison jam, but for this one grouse that was very slowly making its way across.

 

   The snow melt had begun, and the rivers were beginning to roar, running high and fast.  There seemed to be lots of water everywhere as we made our way towards Tower Junction and the Lamar Valley even in Phantom Lake where usually none is seen (thus its name).  Along the way we saw something we had never seen before, a herd of bison actually in one of the ponds, and nearby a couple of young bulls were practicing their head butting skills.




 

 

As we continued our drive, once again we had to stop as a critter ran across the road in front of us.  At first we thought it was a wolf, but eventually based mainly on its coloring realized it was a coyote and though quite healthy, wasn't quite as big as a wolf.  We were able to pull over and watch as it scampered up and over the hill. 

We drove a little further to the next pullout and saw it continue across the meadow until it met up with a couple more near a large tree in the distance.  We were so busy watching it that we didn’t notice the rather large collared bison lying not far from our car!  We were within the safe viewing limit of 25 yards, but it did initially startle us.  Two young bison crossed the road and began nudging at her.  When

she finally stood up, we can see that there was something wrong with her hind legs, and we wondered if she had been hit by a car.  Suddenly one of the young started trying to nurse, which seemed odd because it seemed too old for that.  We’ve since found out that the collared bison has been that way for about 2 years, and the expert wasn’t sure why those “young adults” were trying to nurse.

 

Once we arrived in Lamar Valley, we saw a large number of cars and several spotting scopes which probably meant there was some action going on.  Out on a hill near the river was a bison carcass (dead from natural causes we were told) with a wolf gnawing at its hind-
       quarters.  In the photo above right you can see the wolf to the
right of the downed bison while several other bison were hanging nearby.  Also in the area were 3 coyotes (seen left) who were hoping to get in on the action. 
  Once the wolf had its fill, it chose a spot to lie down not far away, and the coyotes began to strategize a plan for getting some of that fresh meat.  However, the wolf was going to do its best not to let that happen and started chasing the
     coyotes (seen left).  But it was 3 against 1 and soon the coyotes were chasing the wolf (below right), and eventually even one of the bison joined in the chase (below left)!  Once the wolf was well out of the way, the coyotes
   headed back towards the carcass yowling and yipping as if celebrating their victory over the wolf.  They better watch out, though, because that wolf was probably going back to the den for reinforcements!  The coyotes ate
      on the carcass for only about 10 min. and then left.  Sure seemed like a lot of work and commotion for not eating much, but then maybe it was more the thrill of the chase.  It was definitely an exciting event for us to watch unfold.

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872
• Moose: Bull (male) weighs close to 1,000 lbs., cow (female) weighs up to 900 lbs., standing 5-1/2 - 7-1/2 ft. at the shoulder, and newborns weigh 25-35 lbs.
• Coyote: Weigh 25-35 lbs., 16-20 in. high at the shoulder
• Wolf: Males weigh 100-130 lbs., females weigh 80-110 lbs., 26-36 in. at shoulder, 4-6 ft. long nose to tail tip

We're Back!

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, magpie, raven, Canada geese

The trip cross country was thankfully uneventful, and we arrived at Yellowstone National Park on April 29, our home for the next 5 months.  Abby at times has taken Mikey’s place at Russ’ side helping him “navigate” as he drives, but mostly she hangs by me dozing or looking out the window.  Our main reason for arriving so early was to hopefully enjoy seeing lots of newborn critters and the fast rushing waters from the snow melt.  However, we may have arrived too early because the rivers and streams seemed to be running about like they do during the height of summer.  Evidently the snow melt had not yet started.

Not far outside the park we spotted our first osprey of the year perched in its nest high above on the telephone wires, and the magpies greeted us not long after we pulled into our campsite.  Ranger Allan happened to be in the office when we arrived and said for us to just 
       pull into site 1, the host site closest to the office.  The lower loop of the campground is closed for the winter, but we would be moving down there to our home site for the summer later in the week.

The next day a storm front could be seen moving in, but we were snug and cozy in our RV.  Early the next morning a dusting of snow lay upon the ground, and though the day remained overcast, the snow melted fairly quickly.  The nights were getting down into the high
     20s/low 30s with daytime highs in the 40s - low 50s.  A little chilly but not too bad as long as there was no breeze.
 

        A couple of days later we took our first drive out to the Lamar Valley region where this bison decided he needed to cross the road right at that moment.  Always remember…this park belongs to the animals

and we are merely visitors in their domain!  Though we had heard there were quite a number of bison calves this year, we really didn’t see many on this drive.  Maybe they were all napping somewhere, but we were sure we’d see plenty of them eventually.

 

We finally moved down to site 41 over the weekend with our incredible view of the valley to the north.  The lower loop would remain closed for about another week, and it was as if we were in our own private gated community.  One day as we headed back from

      the grocery store in town, we stopped in the pullout along the road across from our site for one of those rare photo ops…our lone RV with no other campers anywhere to be seen.

 

    Without all the other campsites filled in the lower loop, the elk were in abundance on a daily basis, not only in the early morning and evening but hanging throughout the day.  The photo at right was directly across from our campsite,

      and the the gal pictured at left even found herself a nice place to rest with a view just on the other side of our picnic table!

 

        On other days bison could be found grazing up the hill in Mammoth Hot Springs, and a lone coyote scouted the hillside in the campground for its next meal.  Further north along the banks of the Gardiner River,

      ravens were finishing up what was left of a carcass in the river.  Such is the circle of life.

   Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone National Park encompasses 3,472 sq. miles (2,221,766 acres), larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

• The park is an active volcano with one of the world’s largest calderas, and has 1,000-3,000 earthquakes annually.
• There are more than 300 active geysers, more than 10,000 hydrothermal features, and about 290 waterfalls.