Ever since I was a young kid, one of the places that has intrigued me the most has always been Yellowstone National Park. Whether one has been to the park, has seen pictures, or has viewed it's many documentaries, they will automatically know that it has a ton of magic and is a unique, worldwide-famous location. Yellowstone became the first national park in the world on March 1st, 1872. The reason for it becoming the first national park was very obvious. Not only is the area of high scenic beauty, but it also hosts 60% of the geysers in the world. Up to 10,000 thermal features are found in Yellowstone, many of which are breathtaking and give off high senses of mystery. This includes more than a thousand geysers that have erupted. Underneath it all is a super-volcano. Although extremely unlikely for a VERY longtime, it could possibly erupt and cause damage worldwide. Cool huh?! Not really at all, just kidding, as scientists seem to think it would wipe out up to five billion people. Besides geysers are an abundance of scenic beauty and wildlife. For me, the wildlife has always been my reason for wanting to go to Yellowstone National Park. It's always been something I've wanted to do, and my brother Tyler has always wanted to go even more than I have. We've talked about "how cool it would be to go to Yellowstone" for years, and back in January, we made plans to finally do so!
This is my birding blog, yes. But as Tyler and I made plans to go to Yellowstone and studied things about the park before the trip, most of our excitement came from the possibilities of seeing Wolves and Bears. For me, the Wolf is my favorite animal on earth and can triumph any bird in a split second, and Tyler's favorite animal is the Black Bear. On the other hand, the Black Bear wasn't the bear we were wanting to see most. The Grizzly Bear took that from it's smaller cousin, and it was understandably so since neither of us had seen a wild Grizzly. When going into Grizzly Bear country, it becomes a different ball game. If you encounter one the wrong way, your life can end in a heartbeat. They can be very dangerous and can't be taken lightly. We knew that hiking in Grizzly country would be much different than anything we've experienced. Up until the trip, I had never been within the range of these impressive bears. As I use caution in such situations, I prepared myself for the trip to Yellowstone and read up more on it's Grizzlies. The bottom line is to have common sense and caution, and to buy and carry bear spray. Over anything else that could be seen in the area, nothing else in my mind came close to wolves and I was really hoping for sightings. And then there was birding too. The trip was designed to fly into Salt Lake City, Utah, and then go up through southeastern Idaho up into the southern tip of Montana to a small town called West Yellowstone. We would stay in West Yellowstone for 15 nights, and the town is conveniently named because it is barely west of the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the park is in the northwest part of Wyoming. The four states would be new for my birding career, as I had never birded in any of them previously. Although birds were for sure to take a second place seat to Wolves, Bears, and Moose, I did have some life bird targets of Harlequin Duck and Greater Sage-Grouse in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. I also planned on going to southern Idaho for one of the 15 days to try for the recently split Cassia Crossbill, as well as an early morning departure to Utah where Chukar was another species I would target. Besides those four potential lifers, I also realized that I would learn about the avian life of a region I had never visited before. An interesting cast of Rocky Mountain species can be found, with some birds reaching some interesting locations for their range. And Yellowstone is home to my three favorite birds in good quantity, which are Northern Goshawk, Great Gray Owl, and Boreal Owl. For me, I would truly have it made on this vacation with all the wildlife possibilities.
Our game plan was to visit places like Lamar and Hayden Valleys first thing in mornings or later in the evenings for many days on the trip. This would be our best bet for seeing mammals like both bear species, moose, and wolves. As we prepared for the trip, I thought that bears would be a guarantee to see on the trip with both species. With wolves, I predicted they would be a bit more of a challenge. When it came to birding, I did a lot of research. I read about and looked up many locations to bird at within Yellowstone National Park, and at Grand Teton National Park as well. As we were planning to spend a good 9 to 10 days in Yellowstone National Park itself during the 14 full days we would have, we also wanted to take about 3 different days to drive to Grand Tetons. Yellowstone has Harlequin Ducks at a few of it's rivers, with the most notable place for seeing them being along a small section of the Yellowstone River at a fast flowing section of the river called LeHardys Rapids. Many people go to that specific spot to get Harlequin Duck, which is almost a guarantee when visiting in the early to mid-June time frame I was going in. I was stoked to try and see that species. Another lifer I was excited to try for was Greater Sage-Grouse, which is found in good quantity at the southern reaches of Grand Teton National Park in and around Jackson.
Our planned trip was scheduled from May 31st through June 15th. Our Aunt Tracy gave us a ride to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix on May 31st, and we flew to Salt Lake City. From there and with a rented Jeep Wrangler (the perfect vehicle for the trip), we made our way north through Utah and Idaho to barely reach Montana toward our staying place in the small town of West Yellowstone. I got my birding lists started for all three states, and taught Tyler how to use eBird and enter in birds for me as I was navigating. The scenery was awesome in places on the drive, and Walmart was the biggest stop to get started. It was awesome once we got to West Yellowstone. This town is awesome, and I highly recommend it as a staying place. After checking into the hotel, I was thrilled to know that it was the first of 15 nights as the base for the trip. My brother and I didn't waste anytime after checking in. It had gotten to be about 7 P.M. that evening after we checked in, and we still had about two hours of daylight left. After a quick stop at McDonald's, we got an annual National Parks Pass and went for a drive into Yellowstone National Park for the first time. From the start, the place was incredible. Rivers, small lakes, open meadows, and dense coniferous forests were everywhere. Going up the road resulted in more montanious terrain, faster flowing rivers, and beautiful waterfalls. Steam rising from the ground was our first look at geysers. The landscape was breathtaking. Not far into the drive we were met by a Bison, which was epic. We both screamed when we saw it, and it was the first time we saw a Bison since a trip to Custer State Park in South Dakota's Black Hills all the way back in 2000. It is without doubt these huge beasts have a neat, majestic aspect about them. Tyler and I really enjoyed this one. He walked along the road, and even let out a huge bellowing sound as he walked by our rented jeep. From here, we would see more and more and more Bison, as they are one of the most abundant animals in Yellowstone. The drive went by quickly although it doesn't get dark until about 9:30 on late spring and summer evenings. By the time we got back to West Yellowstone, it was about 11 P.M. and we decided to wake up at 2:30 A.M. to leave for Lamar Valley by 3 A.M. Although the route to Lamar Valley was only 80 miles, the maximum park speed limit of 45 miles per hour slowed things down a lot, and it would take us over two hours just to get to Lamar Valley. Waking up early and not getting much sleep would end up being a common trend on the trip.
June 1st was a big day, as it would be our first full day in Yellowstone and we headed for the famed Lamar Valley. Lamar Valley, as well as Hayden Valley, are often referred to as North America's Serengeti. While African mammals have a "Big 5" mammals that they defer to that involve Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, and Rhino, North America has their own "Big 5" that was recently debated. Countering Africa's Big 5 for North America are Grizzly Bear, Polar Bear, Moose, Bison, and Gray Wolf. What was crazy to me about being in Yellowstone was that 4 of those 5 can be found at times on one day with a certain amount of luck. Turns out that the first day held that kinda magic.
The scenery of Lamar Valley is truly magnificent as one drives along it's reaches. A wide green valley that is surrounded by picturesque forested mountains, slopes, hills, and tall peaks is a location that is hard to beat. The Lamar River flows through the Valley, which contains green grass and sagebrush in open areas. Looking down into the valley resulted in awesome views of large Bison herds in the distance and up close to the road. Sometimes the Bison would sit in the road, and would create traffic jams and delays. And the funny thing is, they didn't give an f-word. Not an f-word about people, that is...
Here's the Lamar Valley, and here's some more Bison.
Tyler and I learned loads about wildlife watching on the first day. Some of it was what we expected, and some of it was unexpected. We learned how to separate casual wildlife watchers from serious wildlife watchers. The average person had a pair of binoculars or a cell phone to take pictures of wildlife with that were close to the road. Other folks had great cameras with huge lenses. A smaller but much more eyecatching group of people to me were those with binoculars on tripods or those with high powered spotting scopes. I knew that bringing my scope was a must, and it was ready to go. After seeing two guys along the road with scopes, we asked them what they were looking at. "Black Bear" they said. Tyler and I were shocked to see that this Black Bear was very far away. Probably close to two miles, and it was walking well above the Lamar Valley and in a clearing within the forested mountains. Although the bear was distant, it was still recognizable in the scope and Tyler enjoyed watching it for a few minutes. We continued east through Lamar to see all of it before we'd turn back around and repeat the drive. Along the drive Tyler spied a Moose, which was very exciting.
As we kept going through the day, roadside Bison entertained as well as a small group of three more Moose who were fairly close to the road.
Making our way back to Lamar again, we saw more and more people with scopes. The answer was "Grizzly Bear" this time, and we looked up high on the surrounding mountains which had some grassy meadows within the more distributed coniferous forests. Some of these meadow areas still had a lot of snow at the top. These areas commonly have Grizzly Bears foraging in them. These bears were very far away, and we had to squint to tell what they were. We weren't satisfied with the views and wanted much better. Tyler was hoping that we'd see one at a close distance to the road at some point of the trip. After all, it is the epic Grizzly Bear. As the morning went on, we stopped at many places along Lamar Valley. We asked what people were looking at. Luck came our way as someone else was on two Grizzly Bears on a different slope that was distant but much closer than the previous ones that we saw much further away. I wasn't expecting too much of a view, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got my scope on the two bears. The scope views ended up being great, and these two bears had a beautiful golden-brownish color to them. Tyler had to go elsewhere when I set up the scope, and as soon as I got a look at the Grizzlies and saw how good the view were, I yelled out for my brother to come quickly. He was satisfied with the views, and watched the bears for a solid ten minutes or so before they went out of sight.
As we moved further west through the valley, another group of people were standing on a slope above the road. Most of them had scopes. I called up to them to inquire about what they were seeing. After being sure that they were looking at some of the distant Grizzlies high on the snow-covered slopes, to my surprise they said, "Wolves". I ran up the hill and asked where the wolves were. One guy stepped out and was willing to help me right away. He pointed out where they generally were, and said, "there's two black wolves and a gray wolf traveling together". After I struggled to get them in my scope, he managed to get them in there for me. And there they were. Three awesome Gray Wolves, who range in color from pure white to jet black despite their name. The wolves were moving throughout the valley, to the south of us in the distance and across the Lamar River. They were on the move, and headed to the east. Most of the time they were trotting, but at times they would stop and look around. The distance between us and the wolves was strong, but at the same time, a good spotting scope can put one close to the action. I'm reminded often of the gift of generosity that was extended to me when someone handed down their scope to me, which is the scope I take with me on every trip. And here I was in Yellowstone, looking at wolves with it and joining a crowd of wolf watchers. As the wolves continued on, they all eventually decided to lay in midst of the sage habitat, which put them out of sight. People started talking more about wolves, and I could tell that some of the folks were experienced wolf watchers. A young woman who works as a wildlife technician came around and talked to people, including us. She gave me a wolf program that the park published, which contained information on every pack. She also had a radio collar with her, that had previously been worn by a wolf. I was shocked that the collar was pretty heavy, and she told me she had put the collar on the wolf. Talking to her about wolves was awesome. My brother and I were then made aware that the wolves we were watching were part of the Junction Butte Pack, which is a large pack. As the Lamar Valley is one of their key places for their livelihood, we were also made aware that this pack is large and had a den a few miles away. This den was viewable from a public road! When I asked for directions, people told me where to go and what road to turn down. They said once I turned down the road, I would need to look no further, because the crowds of people would be obvious.
The crowds were obvious when I got to Slough Creek, which was toward the western side of Lamar Valley. Most had scopes pointing up toward a mountain slope. The people in the crowds were cool, and one guy got me on the spot where the den was, which was probably 1.5 miles away from the crowds. It may seem like a long ways away to look at a wolf, but the scopes really do work wonders. The den was below a shady stand of pine trees, and one of the adult wolves made a brief pass through the shade and kept on going. A man who got me on the den then spied a black and gray adult wolf walking below the den. They were walking around and pausing for some time before making their way back into the nearby forest. These wolves were probably a half-mile closer than the den was, and I was stunned at the sight of them and didn't want them to go back in the woods. Looking back up at the den, things got very active. A younger black wolf was often by the den, and it seemed to care for the pups. At one point, this wolf did something, and eight wolf pups emerged from the den and ran down a hill to greet their older pack member. The pups, very small and about 4 were gray and the other 4 black, were full of energy and tail wagging. Some of the other adult wolves came in to participate with the pups. It is said by scientists that wolves love their young and take great pride in them. I believe it too. For about two hours, we had fun watching these wolves with many other people. I thought in my head that this wolf pack and den is so good for the world, for both humans and wolves. Wolves need love to spread, and people need to wake up and realize how important these creatures are for the world.
A morning in Lamar Valley yielded incredible results. The rest of the day was spent exploring the park. We went to some geyser areas, including Mammoth Hot Springs. One of my favorite things was a volcano at the edge of the Gibbon River. Steam and cold water shot and flowed out of this thing, it was fantastic. This would all take place on June 1st, and the next day, June 2nd would be similar.
After getting little sleep, we headed out on June 2nd very early for Lamar Valley. Despite lack of rest, I still had plenty of energy as I drove the Jeep Wrangler through the park. As we'd be spending a lot of money, we opted out of spending more money as I was fine with driving the entire trip rather than paying several hundred extra to have Tyler being added on as a driver. When creatures like Wolves are involved, driving for hours isn't all that bad. Speaking of wolves, we got to the Junction Butte Pack's den viewing site at the crack of dawn. For two hours, we watched more and more wolf activity and it was a blast. Several adult wolves frequented the area, and at times the pups continued to emerge. Conversations with other people was continued to be great for learning about how to "wolf watch", which is in ways similar to some birding techniques. Wilson's Snipe and Sandhill Crane were among the bird species present at the Wolf-watch.
After the wolves, we headed further east through the Lamar Valley and up into the northeast gate of Yellowstone, which went slightly into Montana and out of the park for a short distance to the small town of Cooke-Silver Gate. This town was awesome, and I we stopped to look for a Moose Tyler had spied near the community. We didn't see the Moose again, but a marshy area nearby yielded Fox Sparrow and Wilson's Warbler. Going back into the park we got to see a Mountain Goat way up on distant towering cliffs, and incredible views of another Moose. This Moose was one that we actually saw on the drive in, but it was bedded down with obstructed views on our first drive by. Heading back, it was walking around and feeding, much to our delight and a crowd of other people.
Going back through Lamar again yielded something incredible. A crowd of people draws attention and keeps growing, and when asking what the next crowd was all about, a few answered us, "we have a Black Bear at the bottom of these trees taking a nap, and her cubs are further up in the pine trees resting". We got out and watched the bears, who were on the other side of a river and an adjacent slope that we were on. While the cubs looked like little clumps of fur high in the trees, the mother bear was obvious. At times she would lift her head, and everyone was really getting a thrill out of it. After some time, we saw her look up and it appeared that she was calling up to her cubs. The sound of the river made it impossible to hear anything, but the suspicion was confirmed when the two little cubs came climbing down the tree. It was awesome to watch, and one cub was black and the other was brown. The cubs played with their mom and with each other for a few minutes before mom got up and they all walked through an open area and went further up onto a ridge and further into a forest. Tyler said that alone was worth his trip, and little did Tyler know, but there would still be more and more bear action.
I was amazed that we were only 1.5 days into the trip, and we had already seen both Bear species, Wolves, Moose, and Bison, which we called Yellowstone's Big 5. We also visited plenty of geysers, scenic overlooks, and trails. Yellowstone is an overwhelming place when it comes to activities one could do, and it could take a long time to see it all. In the first 3 days, we had an sample of the entire park as we traversed every road that we could drive. It helped us plan out our trip further. Geyser-wise and the likes, we saw Mammoth Hot Springs, Mud Volcanoes, Midway and Lower Geyser Basins, and the famous Old Faithful among many others in those first 3 days.
There was birding too. My highlight bird of the trip was the beautiful Harlequin Duck, which was the first life bird I got of the trip. I was thinking that I would find them first at LeHardys Rapids of the Yellowstone River. It is a rapidly flowing section of the river, which is otherwise a mostly quiet stretch of the river as it lies between Fishing Bridge and the extent of Hayden Valley. It's scenic beauty not only attracts many people, but Harlequin Ducks too. These remarkable birds breed on fast flowing rivers or fast flowing sections of rivers, and LeHardys Rapids holds perfect habitat and it is a reliable place for sightings. On June 2nd, when driving through Lamar Valley and along the Lamar River, I was shocked to look out and see a pair of Harlequin Ducks there. Much of the Lamar River along the stretch we drove along is relatively slow flowing, and quite the opposite of rapids. "I'll take it!", I said. I liked finding my lifer further away from a popular location. As shown by these pictures, the bright drake Harlequin is absolutely striking, and the female is kinda cool too.
The whitewater rivers are where the Harlequin usually breeds. After mating, the males don't stick around for long as they venture to the coast. These ducks have a breeding range in the west that goes from northewestern Wyoming further north and west to Alaska, as well as the northern half of the Pacific Coast. The east has a smaller range. They are found more easily in winter along rocky coasts. What is incredible about them on their breeding grounds is watching them feed. During the trip, we stopped at LeHardys Rapids three times to watch the ducks. They would swim against the powerful currents of the whitewaters of the Yellowstone River to feed. It was also great to see them sitting on the rocks right above the river when they would rest. Here are a selection of pictures from visits to LeHardys Rapids to see the Harlequin Ducks. Maybe I'm a little biased after seeing them for the first time, but they may be my favorite duck. I do treat that statement as a grain of salt though. I haven't seen any Eider species yet...
Other than the Harlequin Duck, the other lifer I got on the trip was a Greater Sage-Grouse in the southern end of Grand Teton National Park. Tyler and I searched through extensive sage habitat, and had a Grouse get flushed a considerable distance away from us. What flushed it remains a mystery. I had a 10 second look at it through my binoculars as it flew a distance over the sage before landing. We pursued the bird and weren't able to find it again, and it went down as a lifer with much better views desired. It was a female Sage-Grouse, and I did see it's black belly pretty well at one point of it's flight. Hopefully I can make it to a lek someday. The sage habitat was fun to bird in, as Brewer's Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, and Green-tailed Towhee were a few species that used the habitat in good quantity.
Over the course of the trip, most of the birding was done in Yellowstone National Park, and with two days in Grand Teton National Park. We also spent a few days exploring neighboring national forests in both Idaho and Montana. In Idaho, I visited places that held great bird diversity, with the best place being Harriman State Park. Hebgen Lake in Montana was awesome too. This region where Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana meets holds some interesting ranges for bird species, as well as a cast of typical Rocky Mountain birds. Knowing that there are populations of Boreal, Great Gray, and Short-eared Owls nearby at all times got me going at times of the trip. I enjoyed the birding, but as soon as I saw Wolves, they gradually dismantled my birding interest during the two weeks. The owls were excluded from the dismantle, but I eventually cared less about Cassia Crossbill in southern Idaho and Chukar in Utah and cut them from the itinerary. I think Tyler was jumping around inside when I cut them, as my brother is not a birder. However, He did want to see a Great Gray Owl pretty badly, which we didn't see.
I'll do a summary of the birding followed by a long series of photos. A Northern Goshawk soaring over the a forested mountain along the Lamar Valley borders was epic, and it was the second best bird of the trip after the ducks. It was cool to see birds for the first time on their breeding range. On lakes, ponds, and slower flowing parts of rivers in the region, waterfowl was highlighted by Trumpeter Swan, all three teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, and one of my favorite ducks in Barrow's Goldeneye. Ruffed Grouse were a big highlight for me, and I got my best ever look at one at Two Ocean Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Red-necked Grebe was an epic sight at the small, remote Harlequin Lake in Yellowstone, and a courting pair at Hebgen Lake in Montana was even better. Hearing a Calliope Hummingbird was the one hummingbird I detected in Wyoming at Grand Tetons, and I was shocked at the lack of Broad-tailed Hummingbird. The only one I detected was in Montana. Shorebird wise a few locations held American Avocet and Long-billed Curlew. Wilson's Snipe was fun to observe and listen too in common numbers throughout the region. Sandhill Cranes breed in the area, and were a highlight. They'd be anywhere from aside marshlands, lakes, ponds, open meadows, even alongside one of the wolf dens. It was my first time being on the breeding grounds of Franklin's Gull, and they were a common sight in spots during the trip. Caspian Tern was also numerous in places, and other gulls and terns seen were Bonaparte's Gull and Black and Forster's Terns. Some of the waters also held American White Pelican. Birds of prey included Osprey, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, and Swainson's Hawk. A lack of woodpeckers that I was able to detect shocked me, as I had a few each of Hairy Woodpecker and Red-naped Sapsucker. And this comes with the note that I did a lot of hiking!
Song-bird wise, there were some highlights. Olive-sided Flycatchers were fun to hear from exposed up-high perches. Willow and Cordilleran Flycatchers were both local in the right habitats, and Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers were far more numerous. At times the habitats of Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers would be next door to each other, and it was neat to hear both species while standing in one place. It was interesting to see Eastern Kingbirds in the Lamar Valley, as I had forgotten how far to the northwest this species has it's range, which extends further northwest and well up into Canada as well as central Washington and Oregon. Black-billed Magpies were common and Clark's Nutcrackers were at plenty of locations. Red-breasted Nuthatch was the only nuthatch I detected, and I was shocked at the absence of White-breasted Nuthatch. American Dippers were very common throughout the area where there were rivers and streams. They are always epic. In places Swainson's Thrush was common, a species I haven't spent much time with on breeding grounds. Other typical Rocky Mountain species were found, and it was great to bird a new region. Here is a selection of bird pictures, and it was good to get my foot in the door for Wyoming and Idaho, and some in Montana and Utah. Even though mammals constantly controlled the show, I kept eBird lists wherever I went. After all, Yellowstone is under-birded in general.
When I talked with my brother before the trip about what we wanted to see most on the trip, his answer was, "I want to see a big, mad-looking, bruin Grizzly really close". I agreed with my brother that I wanted to have that sighting too, secondary to a great Wolf sighting. One where a Wolf was close to the road to the point where I could get good pictures with my DSLR camera. During the days of our trip, 14 full days that we had, there was rarely a slow day. Two days of the trip were needed to get extra rest and not get up at unholy hours. On those days we went to Harriman State Park in Idaho, where the birding was really good and there was great potential for seeing anything. Tiredness caught up to me at times during the second half of the trip. One morning, I got up and was super tired. We had even decided to leave at 4:30 in the morning rather than 3. As I wasn't wanting to get up, but I forced myself too anyways. Although Lamar Valley was an 80 mile drive, the 45 mile per hour speed limit extended the drive past two hours. As it was getting toward dawn and the sky was hinting a tad of light after getting halfway to Lamar and just past the Norris Junction, Tyler freaked out as he was looking at a Grizzly Bear foraging right along the road as we were driving. We stopped and were excited at the sight of the bear, and we ended up stopping close to the animal. My window was rolled down a bit before we caught sight of the animal, but I had a feeling to roll it up. Good thing I did, because the bear ended up being close to the jeep once we stopped. I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine through the window. Just like that, he lunged at the window, as if he was unaware of the glass. I can't remember if his paws grazed the windshield or not, but he didn't seem to be fond of humans. He walked a few feet further, and looked back at his. He then lunged at the front of the jeep as if he wanted to break the front windshield. All Tyler and I could say was, "Woah.....". When looking at a Grizzly up close, "woah" can mean a lot of things. In this case, woah means c. when someone realizes how quickly a bear can really take you out and whoop you to death if you weren't inside a vehicle. Perspective set in, and even though we had been prepared for encounters throughout the entire trip and had a fearful respect of the bears, perspective still hit hard. The Grizzly knew that this was home, and simply shook it off in front of us by standing on his hind legs and rubbing his upper back a few times against a tree.
The Grizzly continued walking up the road before walking along a meadow and creek along the road. Light started to hit what turned into a small, open valley that the Grizzly started walking towards. Dense stands of conifers surrounded the open meadows, and a creek ran down the middle of the meadows in the valley. There were some boggy areas too. Tyler and I followed the bear, who we noticed was very big, had some scars on his face, and was missing a part of his left ear. No doubt this bear was a bruin and he had gotten in his fair share of fights with other bears. As the bear was observed, we noticed that all the trails that could be accessed from the stretch of road we were on were closed due to bear activity. Perhaps it was because of this bear. Anyways, as we followed the bears direction as he walked down the valley, we got an absolute show from the animal. The creek was close to the road at times, and at other times it wasn't. When it was close, the Grizzly walked about 80 feet from the jeep, right out in the open. Tyler had gotten his exact wish.
We ended up watching the Grizzly for 1.5 hours of fantastic views. He kept going in what seemed to be an obvious direction for awhile. Once the creek went away from the road, we and many other people who caught on or asked us what was out there joined and were able to watch from a safe distance. At one point, the bear was about 300 feet from the road, and put on a show for the crowd. Before this happened, the creek went through some dense timber, where we couldn't see the bear. Tyler and I waited for 15 minutes before he emerged again. We told a handful of people that there was a Grizzly and that he'd probably come back into sight again, and after a minute of waiting, most of them impatiently left. Things got more fun when he'd show back up again. At one point, the bear sat down in the meadows before getting up and walking again. At this point, he seemed to start coming closer to the road again. I started photographing him a few feet off the road, and I was getting some good shots. Then I realized how deceptive they can be, and in a matter of seconds, he had gotten about half as close as he was when I first stepped off to get some photos. When I reviewed photos later, it revealed that he looked right at me. I quickly went back to the road and stood by the jeep. Many people seemed unaware that the bear was getting as close as he was. As I stood by the jeep, I caught sight of him nearby as he moved through a dense forest. I told one man to be careful and that the bear was right there. The man didn't seem to take what I said too seriously. Although Grizzly didn't seem like he cared too much, in a matter of seconds it could be a 180.
As the bear kept going, we didn't know where he was. We went a few hundred feet further up the highway and watched and listened while leaning against the jeep. Swainson's Thrushes were singing their heads off and we didn't know if the bear was in front of us or behind us. It was a little freaky. I then looked behind us and there was the Girzzly, crossing the street about 200 feet away. A line of approaching cars were freaking out at the sight of the bear. The bear was walking in our direction for a few feet before returning to cross. Once he crossed, someone in one of the cars must have upset him. Grizzly made another bluff charge before proceeding further into the forest, where we wouldn't see him again. The line of cars all had people in them that were blown away by the sight of the bear, just like we were. Before our trip a news report surfaced of a Grizzly who had gotten mad at some people as it was hanging close to the road for some time. Apparently he had a sow he was with and she crossed the road before he did and wasn't happy with the cars as he wanted to make a smoother crossing. A park ranger who was trying to get people to stop crowding and give the animal more space, ended up getting charged by the bear. He ran and got behind his truck using it as a shield. The bear didn't charge very far, and ran once the ranger fired off is air rifle. Later on, I wondered about that bear and read up on it and watched the video further. The location of the report said the bear was near Roaring Mountain and not far south of Swan Lake. I realized that that was very close to where we were here. And when I looked at the video of the bear charging, he looked just like our bear with his ear missing partially and with a scarred face. I think it would take a lot for it to be a different bear than what we saw, especially with his physical appearance and behavior. What a sighting to have, and what an epic bear to see. It really put a stamp on being in Grizzly country, and it's a little fun to have an animal around that constantly strikes a little fear into you.
From the Grizzly Bear, we drove to Lamar Valley and had a few great Wolf sightings through the spotting scope. Much more on wolves in a few. The mammal diversity on the trip was mind blowing when we stopped and thought about what we saw. We saw: Gray Wolf, Coyote, Red Fox, Grizzly Bear (about 8 total, including a great scope view of two more Grizzlies who were a courting pair), Black Bear (3 sets of mother and cubs, and 3 lone adults), Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn Antelope, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Badger, Porcupine, Beaver, Muskrat, Snowshoe Hare, and not to mention all of the smaller mammals such as squirrels and chipmunks, and what I think was a Red-backed Vole. What was crazy about Yellowstone to me was that despite the thousands of people that were present, we were still in the middle of the wilderness and the ecosystems there. The collision of different habitats make it perfect for a variety of wildlife, I've never seen anything like it. There is hardly any cell phone reception in the park with the exception of a few places. Tyler and I took many hikes after we'd spend the earliest hours driving and looking for wildlife. Although we took many hikes, we only hiked a tiny fraction of the many trails that are found within the park. Three day trips to Grand Tetons was similar too.
Another thing we did was look for a famous Grizzly Bear, known as 399, in Grand Teton National Park. She's the only known Grizzly in the entire Yellowstone ecosystem to have 4 cubs. It's very impressive to have 4 cubs considering that she's ancient in bear years and 25 years old in human years. She covers the same territory year after year, and thousands of people travel to see her every year. Tyler and I spent about 10 hours of the trip looking for her in our three visits to Grand Teton. We staked out one day for at least 6 hours in hopes of seeing her and her cubs. In the times that we tried, we came up empty, but she and her cubs were worth it. One night she killed a baby elk and she and her cubs feed on it's carcass right in front of hundereds of observers. It was a crazy thing to hear about, but that's Nature for ya! It'll be interesting to hear of her progress next year.
I'll save the last section of the post to talk more about Wolves. After the initial day of getting acquainted with the approaches of wolf-watching, I caught on to it and met cool people along the way who gave me tips and shared their stories. Some people lived nearby and wolf-watching is their main passion and hobby and they are able to do it year round. I'm jealous of them. After viewing the Junction Butte Pack at Lamar Valley the first two mornings of the trip, Tyler and I went to Hayden Valley during the evening of the second day of the trip. It was our first time in the Hayden Valley, which is famed for it's wildlife viewing like Lamar is. When we entered the Hayden Valley, we saw a group of people with scopes, and they were on wolves. Looking through the scopes revealed more wolves, and this pack is another popular pack in the park, and they are the Wapiti Lake Pack. Before our trip, I had seen a lot of footage of this pack on YouTube, as well as on online photos and articles. This pack features a gorgeous alpha female, who is 11 years old and is Yellowstone's oldest known wolf. She is also the only known all white wolf in the park. Her mate, the alpha male of Wapiti Lake, is a large black wolf. When Tyler and I joined the group, we were told that the pack had chased off a Grizzly Bear who had gotten close to their den. After setting my scope up, I spied the Grizzly before the wolves. The bear was around for a few more minutes, and then the wolves started running around. As it was with the Junction Buttes, we were a distance away from the wolves. It was fun to watch adults that ranged in color from gray to black, walk around the area. A few pups emerged outside of the den. The alpha male came in for a brief time to seemingly check on the other wolves before heading back in the direction of the Grizzly, perhaps to check that the bear had left for good. It was incredible to me that two days into the trip, I had gotten to see two wolf packs and two den sites that both had puppies. That is only at Yellowstone folks, only at Yellowstone! As it got dark, I hoped that at some point I'd get to see that alpha female of Wapiti Lake.
As the trip went on, we made regular trips to Lamar Valley, and some to Hayden Valley. All trips to Lamar Valley, six in all, resulted in seeing wolves. One morning we got there early and got to see three wolves working the Lamar. There were two black wolves and a gray one. Our scope views were excellent, and I was blown away to see one of the black wolves lift us head back, point his head up, and start howling. As we were a distance away, we couldn't hear the howling at first. The gray wolf started howling too. I think they have times where they howl more loudly than other times. But after awhile, a few of the howls could be heard. Chills went up my spine, and it was freaking epic. "You can hear them howling", I practically shouted at Tyler. Even though bears are my brother's favorite, he said that wolves were just as exciting to him. After watching those wolves disappear, we did our usual completion of the road to the northeast entrance in Montana by the town of Cooke/Silver City. When we went back through Lamar again, there were more heavy crowds. Looking down into the valley I could see one of the black wolves trotting around with my naked eye. It was pretty close. "Get out and get a good look, I'll find us a parking spot", Tyler said. And I had a darn good look at the wolf through my scope, and I even got some decent digiscope videos. On the trip, my way of wolf documentation was primarily done through my scope. I did find out that the phone scopes they make for cell phone cameras, get excellent digiscope footage and picture quality. Unfortunately I found out about the excellence of phone scopes when I got to Yellowstone. Some of the people near me got epic videos and photographs. Had I had known about phone scopes, I'd get excellent footage too with much better quality. Regardless, I was watching wild wolves, and it can't get better than that. Next time though, I'll be prepared with a phone scope setup, which they make for one's exact phone and scope model to work perfectly.
Another time when we went to Lamar Valley early, we had a strategy to get better looks at wolves. We got there at the crack of dawn at 25 degree brisk weather, and we took a quarter-mile walk down to the Lamar River, one that goes much closer to the open sections of the Lamar Valley on the other side of the river. At this point the valley came closer to the tree line. On our previous visit, I had seen the three wolves walking fairly close to this area. We waited underneath a stand of large cottonwood trees and enjoyed the sight of a Bald Eagle, Common Mergansers, abundant Canada Geese, and large Bison herds. After scanning for awhile, it didn't take me long to find one of the black wolves. This one was one that was regularly seen, and it has a radio collar. It began walking in our direction, still on the other side of Lamar River. It continued coming our way, and eventually came about 800 feet away from us and close to the river. The scope views of the wolf were breathtaking, and with the speed it was trotting at made it hard to hold the camera still when I tried to film through the scope. It didn't take long for it to be joined by another black wolf, which was without a radio collar. The Bison that were around became their focus. At one point, one of the wolves went through the herd and was un-agressive to the herd, but still got chased off by one of the adults. There were many baby bison in the herd. Once the two wolves joined forces, they challenged an adult bison, who was not happy with them. The wolves sized him up and it was clear that they were no match for the large animal. As these wolves appeared to be 1-2 years old, they probably have a lot to learn when it comes to hunting. They then started sneaking up on the herd of Bison who had many calves. It was incredible to see, and the wolves started to give chase. Tyler and I could hear the stampede from where we were standing. The wolves followed the bison closely as they ran down towards a gully that would eventually run out of sight. It appeared that the wolves were trying to get a young bison to get separated from the herd. What was amazing was that the large herd went into the gully barely below the rest of the Lamar Valley level and it was right up against the forest treeline. At that point, we couldn't see anything. The wolves disappeared with them and we waited with a few minutes of mystery and wondering if the wolves were successful. About ten minutes later, the two wolves emerged again, revealing that the chase was empty. As I looked at them through the scope, they were standing still and staring at something. I then heard a wolf howling, and when I looked at them, none of them were howling. I realized that this other howler was coming from our side of the Lamar River. Sadly, I couldn't locate this third wolf, who seemed to be pretty close to us. When another Bison herd moved in, the two wolves chased them too and unsuccessfully tried their luck again with the bison. It was really a fun thing to watch!
A few other times we went to Lamar Valley, we did see that wolves made successful kills. One of those times we saw a wolf carrying much of the remains of a bison calf through the valley. It was fairly close to the road and right below an overlook at we and many other people were watching from. The wolf sat and fed on the bison for a good amount of time before moving on. At one point I got great video footage of this wolf, only to find out my phone camera had some malfunction and only recorded the first 2 seconds. I was devastated. Another time two black wolves fed on a carcass of something, I think it was an adult female elk. One of the wolves napped in the valley and offered crowds great views as it would occasionally lift it's head, and another wolf fed on the carcass right along the Lamar River before swimming to the other side of the river. The napping wolf got back up and went to feed on the carcass, where he was joined by many ravens and several magpies at the carcass. Sometimes wolves consume over 20 pounds of meat in a sitting, which explains for a nap to follow the meal. At one of the times, the black wolves were joined by a gray wolf. They were on the opposite side of the river and valley as us, and we could hear them howling very well. Every second was awesome. The wolves looked in our direction (although unfazed by us over a mile away) while another could be heard howling. They just stood there and stared for a few minutes as they seemingly listened to another wolf howling, as if they were having some sort of conversation. As they moved on, they went up the slopes above the valley and could be seen for more time. Most wolf viewing sessions in Lamar Valley would last for 2-3 hours for us, and they did not disappoint. In an evening jaunt to the Junction Butte den site, we saw a few of the adult wolves, and someone spied an elk giving birth to her calf right below the den. People freaked out that the calf would soon become prey, but a knowledgeable wolf guide said that the pack won't make kills in such close proximity to their den. The reason for this would be exposure to other predators such as bears, who will kill wolf pups. It's one of many aspects of how smart wolves are, and how dynamic of a creature they are.
Two more epic sightings came of wolves toward the end of the trip from the Wapiti Lake Pack in Hayden Valley. One morning we got up early and tried for a Great Gray Owl without success near Fishing Bridge where one had been seen fairly regularly. After trying, we went through Hayden Valley on our way to Artist Point to access a hiking trail to Ribbon Lake. As it was still early, there were plenty of people with scopes, looking at wolves. We got out and there was a guy there who worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife. He had done a lot of field work with wolves, and showed us pictures of him radio collaring animals and all that cool stuff. He also put us on that famous white alpha female of the Wapiti Lake. She was lying down with a few pups and was allowing them to play with her. I waited for some time before she got up and walked around for a minute before lying back down again. Another adult wolf was there to keep the pups company as well. It was awesome to see the white alpha female. The guy also told us about Grizzly Bears that were being seen by Yellowstone Lake. Tyler and I put the hike off further and went to look for Grizzlies. Luckily, I spied a male and female courting pair, and we had excellent scope views. On the final day of the trip, we were heading through Hayden Valley again to go back to the bear spot by Yellowstone Lake in the evening. We had a great day of wildlife watching and hiking in Lamar Valley, which did include wolves. While driving through Hayden, we noticed crowds of people by an overlook but didn't think too much of it because none of them had spotting scopes. But then by the crowd size and body language of the people, they seemed very excited. When we pulled up, they told us that a pack of seven wolves were right down by the Yellowstone River. I ran out of the jeep and Tyler found a place to park. I put the scope down on the river and there were the wolves. The sun shined down in that direction perfectly, and the lighting was great. And there were four adult gray wolves, and three adult black wolves. The views through the scope were better than what I had on the entire trip. I then didn't know what to do. I wanted to watch them, and I wanted to get some video and pictures. This was the time I figured I'd get good pictures. Although the distance and lighting was good, the pressure of holding the camera right to capture the epic moment and what was a windy spot made it difficult. The wolves were all investigating the water, and some of them were moving down the edge of the river further. I decided to quickly go over to another viewpoint that was a few minutes away. This viewpoint would be much better, but when I got there, all but two wolves were out of sight, and the remaining two, which was a black one and a gray one, were swimming across the river. I then ran to another viewpoint, but by the time I got there, the wolves had moved from the river and through the valley. They crossed the main road and started to head towards their den, and I had just missed them being close. A couple who I came across had gotten to the spot a few minutes before I did. They said some of the wolves started to come out of the woods by them, but when they caught sight of them, they maneuvered around and kept a good distance from the couple. I barely missed having the killer and close views I had wanted. It stung in ways, but the sighting was still freaking epic. As the Wapiti Lake wolves made their way to the den, they were fun to watch. Some of them chased off an elk. When we made our way back toward the first overlook and vehicle, some people were still watching the river where the pack first was. It turned out one of the black wolves stayed put. And this black wolf put on a show for everyone. He ran back and fourth from the river to a stand of trees, as if he was watching over something for the rest of the pack. At times he would howl, and we weren't able to hear him howling. As he did his thing, he would stand and stare in the direction of the crowd for minutes at at time. At times I let other people look through my scope, and they were very excited. It was cool that this wolf stayed back and almost everyone got to see a wolf after the initial visit from the pack. The sun hit him perfectly, and his yellow eyes contrasted with his dark coat as if they were shining in the light. His stare was intense, and has great power to last as a vivid, lifetime memory. Eventually, he'd go back in the woods and would be the last wolf of the trip. When wolves look our way, they don't stare at us, they stare though us. When I see wolves, it really makes me feel like I'm in the wild. After seeing the pack much closer than any other time of the trip and the concluding view of the last wolf, what it did was make me want to return soon. Actually, as soon as possible (ASAP).
Wolf watching like that for the first time in my life was a life changer. It is one of the funnest times I've ever had in nature. It has made birding seem boring and almost small. Birding is boring right now, and I want to go back and wolf watch more. Maybe it's a wolf hangover and birding is still there, I don't know right now. All I can think about is when can I go back to Yellowstone to look for wolves again. Something that was really awesome were the large crowds of people loving on wolves. Thousands and thousands of people. I can't think of something better for both sides. People need to wake up and stop doing harmful things to these animals. The crowds of people at Yellowstone are hopeful in getting the positive word out like a snowball effect. Maybe someone's wolf story could change the mind of someone who doesn't like wolves. We humans have destroyed a lot in the natural world, and wolves are one of the best examples. After being killed off and driven out of Yellowstone National Park and being absent for years, wolves were brought back to Yellowstone from Alberta, Canada in 1995. This was after the ecosystem had gone bad without them. In a matter of time, the presence of wolves restored the ecosystem to a healthy state as the region welcomed back it's top, natural predator. Ever since then, people have been able to study more and learn more about wolves then we ever have before. Sightings in Yellowstone occur almost daily, and people have been able to study and observe them like a time that was never before. A biologist made a comment about wolf reintroduction, "It's like the wolves are rewarding us for putting them back where they belong". I couldn't agree more. But just outside of Yellowstone in Montana and Idaho are many people who hate wolves, and are lurking around to make their best interpretation of wolves being removed from the Endangered Species list. Wolves are able to be killed in cruel and unjust ways. Humans are the strong in many ways, but in other ways we are the weakest. Not having respect for the natural world is as weak as one can get. I'd love to see the wolf hunters try to fight a wolf without a gun or some sort of weapon. I can only hope that wolves return to the protections they need. I can understand people who own cattle worrying about their livelihoods, but facts show that wolves are far from being the main enemy. Wolves account for a much smaller percentage of livestock deaths than what people realize. Domestic dogs kill more livestock than wolves. It all comes down to humans being selfish and entitled as the end result. Wolves once roamed North America in abundance before settlers arrived, and if an animal is here it is naturally meant to be here. People need to get their priorities straight when it comes to respecting the natural world. The wolves of Yellowstone are a constant, eye-opening reminder of what needs to be done. People need to listen to scientists. If they don't, they can start saying hello again to the start of an ugly, unhealthy, unbalanced ecosystem, and the hoofed quarry hunters love to hunt most will really end up struggling. Yellowstone was clearly turning into a fiery furnace without wolves, and yes, that's a whole separate furnace away from geysers, which is the wrong furnace. An awesome quote I saw reads, "When we return wild animals to Nature, we merely return them to what is already theirs. For man cannot give wild animals freedom, we can only take it away". Wolves keep proving the haters wrong, but the haters keep hating. Recently a family was hiking with their husky in an area with wolves, and the husky led the way and went ahead a little bit. A gunshot hit the husky in the head, and luckily the dog survived the shot although having horrible wounds. I don't think the shooter was located, but no doubt they thought the husky was a wolf. It's mind blowing how many people love dogs and need their dogs, but yet so many want to eliminate the great ancestor of what we call man's best friend. On the flip side, I think there are tons of great people out there who love wolves, and I think a higher percentage are opposed to killing them. Hopefully more people who have the strongest says in the world will someday get the point. Wolves target sick animals among elk, bison and other prey, and take out those who may spread disease, disease that wolves are apparently immune too. Maybe they sense disease in the cattle they kill too? An article recently surfaced that wolves could be a front line defense against disease that spreads among hoofed mammals. It's even feared that this disease could eventually spread to humans and become contagious. Wolves are apparently immune to it but yet take out the sick and prevent much of the disease from spreading. More remains to be learned. But wouldn't it be something if someday wolves were the only source of something majorly bad being stopped from spreading to us? We keep learning things about these majestic animals, and I think there's much more to be learned. Hopefully we won't keep getting in the way and more people can learn to coexist with wolves.
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| My souvenir, and a good read! |
The Yellowstone trip was epic, and I look forward to a return in the future. 14 full days can sure go by very quickly when at a place like this. Thanks Tyler for the great time!
