Grand
Teton & Yellowstone National Parks
26-30
August 2004
by Henry Detwiler
Suzanne, Becky, Adriana, Gaby, and I spent a wonderful week up in the
Rockies, enjoying the scenery and wildlife.
104
species -- bird list is at the bottom of the page
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
On Monday afternoon we made it up to Rendezvous Mountain,
overlooking Teton Village and Jackson. Mountain Bluebirds,
American Pipits, & White-crowned Sparrows were enjoying the
meadows, and a Golden Eagle soared over us. Beautiful flowers
were everywhere, and the girls had a snowball fight!
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Colorado Columbine
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Western Tanager
When
we first saw this bird we were thinking Black-backed Woodpecker, but
the white flanks, white rump, and head pattern gave it away as an immature Williamson's
Sapsucker.
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Over the next two days we explored the Grand Teton
National Park, enjoying the awesome mountains and forests, and
spotting a great assortment of birds-- siskins, chickadees, Pine
Grosbeak, and Western Tanager.
Williamson's Sapsucker
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Heart Spring
Old Faithful Geyser Basin
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We spent most of Wednesday and Thursday at
Yellowstone, where the geothermal features and mammals reigned
supreme. Along with hundreds of other tourists we watched Old
Faithful erupt, and then set out to see lesser-know (but equally
magnificent) sights like Heart Spring and Plume Geyser.
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Sparring Bison - Hayden Valley
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Along
Polecat Creek were several families of Barn Swallows. We
also heard and saw our only Gray Jays there. Mornings were
the best time for the small animals; that's when we saw our one
American (Pine) Marten and my life Short-tailed Weasel (carrying a
vole). 
Mountain Bluebird
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Barn Swallow
The bird on
the left is a young Mountain Bluebird; the only blue on her at all
is at the base of the tail. She was busily catching bugs
along the Mud Volcano trail.
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Elk at Yellowstone
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The two most common large mammals in the park were elk and
bison. We saw one elk even larger than this one, but it was
too dark for a picture. In Hayden Valley, during our last
evening, we were fortunate to see a grizzly sow and two tiny cubs.
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Close to Moran Junction we stopped in an area known for its moose. We
didn't see any moose, but did see a
family of Ruffed Grouse. The young were too fast for me, but
I did get a partial shot of the watchful mama.
Spotted Sandpiper
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Ruffed Grouse
Friday
we drove back to Salt Lake City to catch our plane home, watching the scenery and birds
along the way. Not far south of Jackson, we stopped at a
wetlands along the Snake River in Alpine where this Spotted
Sandpiper was guarding its fledgling.
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Here we also saw more Ospreys, including this young individual
glaring at me from its nest. At Bear Lake NWR, Idaho, we
were treated to a small flock of Trumpeter Swans. We
definitely plan to return!
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Osprey |
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