Posts Tagged ‘big horn sheep’

Yellowstone: Day 5

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Today the wildlife activity in the park seemed to pick up a lot. We saw all sorts of animals. We started out with a small coyote who crossed the road in front of us only to soon disappear into the snow.

We also saw some more coyotes later in the day. One of which had found what appeared to be a large elk bone and was chewing on it for quite some time.

We also were able to see some buffalo fighting on a snow bank. One was clearly the victor and the other left in a huff. It was really interesting to watch but a little scary having a fight so close to the car. They were locking horns and butting heads for a few minutes in front of us.

Even more exciting was what we spent the majority of the day doing; following around a little fox. Foxes are one of my favorite types of animals and I think one of the most beautiful wildlife species to be found in Yellowstone. I have photographed a fox before, but this fox was different. He had so much fur and color that made him look fantastic.

At first I had seen him a very long way away in Lamar Valley hunting. I predicted that if I waited long enough he would come closer to the road where I could get a decent shot of him. So I nestled down into the snow and sat out in the valley and waited for him for about an hour. I almost gave up to go find another animal because I heard wolves howling nearby when sure enough he popped up right where I thought he would be. He came trotting along and quickly made his way across the valley and yet again disappeared from view. I got a shot though so it was ok. Then we left and came back about an hour or two later and found him again on the other side of the road. We quickly realized he was going to cross the road at some point so we waited diligently for him to take action.

Sure enough he began to quickly head to the road and we followed him.

After he crossed the road he sat down on the snow embankment to watch all the people who were frantically trying to capture his beauty in a snap shot. He was awe-inspiring with his cat-like looks and beautiful red fur. He also had amazingly puffy feet that made him look slightly lopsided and funny when he walked.

He was a perfect example of the amazing wildlife that Yellowstone has to offer.

After the fox disappeared off into the snow covered valley we got to see many other animals like some more big horn sheep, deer, and prong horns. It was a really good day in the park. Still no wolves however and tomorrow is our last day in the park. I really want to get some good shots of a wolf, so hopefully we will get to see them before we are gone.

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Yellowstone: Day 3

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Today was a snow storm. There was so much snow and wind that it felt like a snow hurricane. At certain times we couldn’t even see the road. This also meant that we didn’t see that much wildlife. Still no sightings of wolves but we saw plenty of other animals. There were a lot of buffalos hanging out in the snow, hunkering down for the storm.

We also had a couple of coyotes run across the road in front of us.

The big horn sheep were out again in their usual spot by the rocky outcroppings. We saw some bulls and some juveniles.

We also we able to get some shots of the pronghorn antelopes as we were leaving the park. They are one of my favorite animals in the park because of their majestic beauty. They are beautiful animals with good markings, ig black eyes, and little horns. There is something so beautiful about them that I find so enticing.

It was too windy and snowy to go snow shoeing but it was still a good day. We are hoping for better weather and always more wolves. Hoping for a better tomorrow.

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Yellowstone: Day 2

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

Today was the first day of our real expedition. We headed out in sub-zero temperature in search of the wildlife and beauty that Yellowstone has to offer. We started out early and headed into the park. We got to see some more elk at Mammoth Hot Springs, one of which was nursing.

Then we started out on our long days journey to Lamar Valley. We saw all sorts of animals including coyotes, bison, elk, bald eagles, and big horns. However most of them were to far away to get actually decent photos of them. The big horns however decided to cooperate with us and get close enough to photo graph as they ate their lunch.

After that my dad and i went snowshoeing into a canyon at Pebble Creek. It was beautiful, with high stony walls, snow hatted rocks and a partially frozen river.

Due to fear that we may have been very close to encroaching upon a bear den we decided to take the safe route and return to our car for lunch. After that we headed out to see if the otters from last year were still in their same spot. Sadly we saw no otters today but hope to see them soon.

It was a beautiful day but the wildlife wasn’t super active. I am hoping for more activity tomorrow and hopefully some wolves. For now it was just another beautiful day in Yellowstone.

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Yellowstone: Day 1

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

Today my dad and I arrived in Yellowstone in -20 degree weather. Yes, it was that cold. I have never been so cold in my life, and there is probably a week more of this weather in my future. Anyways, we headed down to Gardiner Montana after landing in Bozeman. It is a winter wonderland here, there is snow everywhere. AS we pulled into Mammoth Hot springs it was snowing and incredibly windy. My face still feels wind burned…

We did see a little bit of wildlife just with our quick peak in the park. I spotted some big horned sheep grazing on a ridge. There was a baby and it’s family all running around in the snow.

We also had a few run ins with a little rabbit as we walked around in the cold.

Funny little critter and good practice to get back into taking wildlife photography. No wolves to be seen yet but we are hopeful. There have been plenty of sightings. Tomorrow we are going snowshoeing and photographing. I will put up more photos tomorrow!!

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