YELLOWSTONE in FALL - Tropical Birding · the “African Serengeti safari experience” of big fauna at close range, making it an idyllic destination for a photo tour. The only downside

TROPICAL BIRDING Photo Tours: Trip Report YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (Montana & Wyoming, USA) October 2016

www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected]

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YELLOWSTONE in FALL: 8th – 14th October 2016

North America’s largest owl, Great Gray Owl appeared fearless as it hunted boldly in the open in broad daylight, as snow gently fell.

Tour Leaders: Nick Athanas, Iain Campbell & Sam Woods (Report written by Sam Woods)



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INTRODUCTION

Yellowstone National Park is a place that encourages superlatives, and is defined by extraordinary statistics; it was the world’s first national park when established in 1872; spans across three US states (Montana, Wyoming and Idaho); is located in the Rocky Mountains and is therefore packed with geological features (it is home to the World’s largest caldera, and contains 300 geysers), and dramatic scenery; and it is home to a staggering variety of animals-over 300 bird species and nearly 70 species of mammal are found within the park. This tour formed a scouting trip for the Tropical Birding team, in preparation for annual fall tours starting in September 2017. The timing of the tour was strategic; the fall is a great time for mammals in particular, and is also when visitor numbers are considerably lower than in the summer peak, which all lends itself to an excellent photography tour.

Ironically, as this tour was timed and focused on large mammals rather than birds, (as bird diversity is low in this season, once migrant species have departed for their wintering grounds elsewhere) it was a bird that stole the show. A Yellowstone stalwart nicknamed this the “Year of the Great Gray Owl”, and after spending more than two straight hours photographing a particularly friendly and confiding individual, we could not agree more. This was the clear highlight, in spite of many other “Yellowstone classics” performing for our lenses too: We had many long observations and photo shoots with the local Bison, both in snow and in glorious sunshine; Grizzly Bears featured on several memorable occasions, when excellent photos were obtained of two cubs in particular; America’s fastest animal, the Pronghorn, presented itself too, with the last male of the tour showing exceptionally well; and our final session inside the park saw us spend a lengthy period with an imposing stag Elk, sporting an impressive rack that measured the width of an SUV! The tour also managed to see eight Wolves and a single Black Bear, although these latter animals were not within photographic range, unlike the others. Along with these animals were other photogenic species, like Gray Jay-often referred to as the “Camp Robber”-which also makes them an ideal subject for a nature photo tour; an eye-catching ram Bighorn Sheep captivated us for some time, with a headdress that rivaled the stag Elk in its grandeur; and a bold Coyote that allowed is to follow and photograph it for some time. Of course, we also visited some of the remarkable geological features while in the park – Old Faithful, the World’s largest geyser was a must visit location, alongside other iconic sites like the Lamar Valley and Mammoth Hot Springs. Yellowstone has been a long-time favorite for the nature photographer, and it very easy to understand why; nowhere in North America offers the “African Serengeti safari experience” of big fauna at close range, making it an idyllic destination for a photo tour. The only downside is that one visit does not feel anywhere near like enough…

TOUR SUMMARY

DAY ONE (8th October): With only a few hours at our disposal after our afternoon arrival in Bozeman (Montana), we hurried into Wyoming, then Yellowstone, and were quickly rewarded with an unphotogenic Black Bear, and wonderful scenes of grassy plains filled with grazing Bison at Tower Roosevelt. These enormous beasts, (the largest of all North American mammals), were to become a daily fixture, offering repeated photo opps, in varied lighting and weather conditions regularly… (photo by Sam Woods)



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DAY TWO (9th October): More than 90% of Yellowstone is located within the state of Wyoming, and so began our daily journey from our comfortable base in nearby Gardiner, Montana into that state to enter the park through the famous Roosevelt Arch; (the cornerstone of which was laid down by the US president in 1903). Our first full day within this awe-inspiring park was spent trying to locate one of the recent Great Gray Owls; one was soon found near Canyon, but our best photos by far were to come a few days later. Tour highlights on this day included regular encounters with Bison (a daily “model” for visiting photographers) at various spots, but an extremely confiding male Bighorn Sheep was the standout sighting at R a in y L a k e n e a r T o w e r…(photo by Sam Woods)



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DAY THREE (10th October): The day dawned with a pair of Trumpeter Swans drifting lazily across S w a n L a k e (one of the most scenic locations at dawn), while the salmon hues of dawn were daubed across the skies above…(photo by Nick Athanas)



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It turned out to be the best bear day of the entire tour, with it being bookended by good sightings and good photos achieved of Grizzly Bears. Firstly, as we headed with purpose towards the park’s most famous geological feature, Old Faithful, a “Bear Jam” sidetracked us, as a sow and cub walked nonchalantly by the assembled admirers, and offered good chances to photograph the mother in particular…(Photo by Iain Campbell)



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We continued on to Old Faithful, the world’s largest cone geyser at some 135ft, which erupts every 75 minutes or so. This required a short wait, but then went off, faithfully, at the “scheduled” time of 12:10pm...(Photo by Sam Woods)



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In the afternoon, following a fruitless search for Great Gray Owls around regular spots in B rid g e B a y and C a n y o n (in an attempt to upgrade our earlier shots); we drove back into M o n ta n a , and tried a local ranch near G a rd in e r , where a pair of Grizzly Bear cubs had recently been hanging out…(Photo by Sam Woods)



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DAY FOUR (11th October): A longer search during the morning near Canyon (7900ft) for the local Great Gray Owl produced stellar results; Nick found the same bird from a few days earlier, though this time perched conspicuously on a dead snag in a meadow fringed by tall spruce trees. To add to this scene, snow also gently fell around it for some time. We spent two hours in its company, and walked away fully satiated… (Photos by Sam Woods)



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Yellowstone is located at the junction of the Great Plains and the Rockies, and so we covered varied sites ranging from an altitude of 5224ft in Gardiner (outside the park), to 8878ft at Dunraven Pass on Mount Washburn, inside. It is often some 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler at some areas inside the park, than less than a mile outside of there. The differences in elevation and temperatures were well illustrated on this day, when a localized snowstorm in the middle of the day at one of the higher sites, saw small herds of Bison bearing loads of snow upon their tough hides, making for great atmospheric photos…(Photo Iain Campbell)



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For lunch, we stopped for a picnic at a N e z P e rc e F o rd campsite and were accompanied joined by a raiding party of Gray Jays, which dropped down within three yards of us to grab a free meal, and confirmed their justified reputation as “Camp Robbers”… (Photo by Sam Woods)



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DAY FIVE (12th October): The day dawned bright, but frosty, creating ashen dusting on the hides of the local Bison. However, by lunchtime all the frosting was gone and the “Big Sky” above was blue and bright…(Photos by Sam Woods and Iain Campbell)



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While searching for the local wolf pack, and moose, in the L a m a r V a lle y and on M o u n t W a sh b u rn , following reports, we did not manage to come across those animals, but did encounter an extremely confiding Coyote, which allowed us to track it with our lenses for ages…(Photo by Iain Campbell)



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DAY SIX (13th October): For our final day in Yellowstone, we entered under cover of darkness, arriving at the revered Lamar Valley a short time after dawn. We were rewarded with a wolf pack, eight Wolves in total, three of which were black morphs. However, the quarter mile distance was too great for photos. A local male Pronghorn, the fastest of all North American mammals, was slow, docile, and very photogenic in the same valley though…



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Our final time in the park was punctuated with a regal stag Elk, with a sprawling rack measuring some six feet across…a fitting finale to our time within one of America’s greatest natural areas for wildlife photography…(Photo by Sam Woods)



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Mule Deer were common around Yellowstone, and even in the nearby towns, and featured regularly on this tour…(Photo by Iain Campbell)



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LIST OF MAMMAL and SPECIES SEEN and PHOTOGRAPHED

• P indicates a species that was photographed.

MAMMALS

Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Least Chipmunk Tamias minimus P Wolf Canis lupus Coyote Canis latrans P Red Fox Vulpes vulpes Black Bear Ursus americanus Brown (Grizzly) Bear Ursus arctos P Pronghorn Antilocarpa americana P Mountain Goat Oreamnos americanus Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis P (American) Bison Bison bison P Elk Cervus elaphus P Mule Deer Odocileus hemionus P

BIRDS

Canada Goose Branta canadensis P Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinators P Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis Barrow’s Goldeneye Bucephala islandica Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus Common Merganser Mergus merganser Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus P



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Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus P Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos American Coot Fulica Americana Rock Pigeon Columba livia Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa P Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus Gray Jay Perisoreus canadensis P Common Raven Corvus corax P Clark’s Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana P Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia P Mountain Chickadee Poecile gambeli Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis American Dipper Cinclus mexicanus Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides Townsend’s Solitaire Myadestes townsendi P American Robin Turdus migratorius European Starling Sturnus vulgaris P Purple Finch Haemorhous purpureus House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Documents

YELLOWSTONE in FALL - Tropical Birding · the “African Serengeti safari experience” of big fauna at close range, making it an idyllic destination for a photo tour. The only downside