Grand Teton Sandhill Cranes
I got to see three different pairs of Sandhill Cranes in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons but photographing them wasn’t easy. Here are the best photographs I had. They had a wonderfully prehistoric sounding call.
Category: Extralimital
Yellowstone Pronghorn
Yellowstone Pronghorn were easily spotted on my trip in two valleys, the Hayden and the Lamar. They’re sometimes called Antelope. They’re known for their great eyesight and quick speed.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton American White Pelicans
American White Pelicans were numerous along the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers. This was yet another species I was familiar with from visits to Florida, that I didn’t expect to see in Wyoming. I guess salt water or fresh water doesn’t matter as long as their are fish to eat.
Yellowstone Bears
I got to see a few Black Bears (which come in every shade from blond to brown to black) and a few Grizzly Bears while in Yellowstone. (For anyone worried about my safety, all of these were taken with a 500mm lens from across a ridge across a river or safely from near a car.)
Harlequin Duck
A new bird for my life list, was a Harlequin Duck found on a rock in the rapids of the Yellowstone River. The sex of this bird was a female. There was no sign of the much more richly colored male unfortunately.
American Dipper
I had spent an afternoon looking for an American Dipper (also known as the Water Ouzel) in Yosemite National Park, without success earlier this year. In Yellowstone, I saw one on my first hike, without even trying!
The bird, which fishes in mountain streams, was the subject of a chapter in John Meir’s The Mountains of California. John Heir’s writings helped create Yosemite National Park.
