June 29, 2008
Course: Yellowstone for Families
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We were pleased to watch a small black bear from a safe distance doing what bears do – eating grass, insects and flowers. The group enjoyed quietly observing the bear for several minutes as it seemed not to know or care that we were nearby.

June 29, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
In the warm afternoon sun, a rare time by grizzly standards, we found a beautiful cinnamon colored grizzly digging for roots in the meadow below Mount Washburn.The holes were so deep that it was often difficult to even see its massive head!

June 29, 2008
Course: Natural History and Geology: Yellowstone Lake
Observer: Ariana Mendelzun, instructor
We explored the flooded trail of Pelican Creek today, looking for frogs and salamanders. We heard the chorus frogs, but they were hidden so well we could not see them. It was fascinating to observe a newly-created habitat due to the high levels of water in the creek, and all the different organisms that had found new homes within its confines.

June 27, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
We witnessed an amazing interaction between a grizzly, a cow elk and a group of wolves this morning in the Lamar Valley. While a grizzly busily fed on a carcass, a wolf (#302) and two yearlings from the Druid Peak pack steadily harassed the bear, hoping to force it away from the kill. To show its determination, the bear would occasionally lift its head and bluff charge the wolves. Eventually, the big grizzly grew tired of the game and walked away. The wolves returned safely to the carcass. Watching this entire process from a distance was a very nervous cow elk – no doubt the mother of the calf, now a carcass being consumed. Another fact of nature in Yellowstone.

June 25, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Patty Walton, instructor
We hiked to Trout Lake to watch the spawning activities of the cutthroat trout. We also noticed an osprey sitting expectantly in the top of a tree overlooking the spawning area. Several muskrats swam the edges of the lake – very close to our position.

June 24, 2008
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Julianne Baker
We spotted a grizzly lumbering into the valley from the tree line. It took a position on top of a carcass where it began feeding. Soon a group of wolves from the Druid Peak pack appeared. A challenge ensued with the grizzly prevailing. The next day, we observed a grizzly sow and her two yearling cubes grazing near the road junction at West Thumb. When she made a move in our direction, we quickly piled back into the bus for a safer view. We ended up with a ring-side seat of the bears as they continued grazing just ten yards from our bus. They did not seem to mind the attention.

June 24, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
We had the wonderful experience of watching a mating pair of grizzly bears frolicking with one another on Mount Washburn. They began their playful ways by rolling down a hill in a large clump of brown fir. Then they lounged around with their feet up in the air. We could not help but smile at the thought of them bringing more grizzly cubs into the world of Yellowstone.

June 24, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Patty Walton, instructor
The Druid pack had killed an elk in the Lamar Valley earlier this morning. When we arrived, a grizzly had taken over possession of the carcass. We watched as the grizzly, having had its fill, sauntered off, only to be replaced by three more wolves and a hoard of raven.

June 23, 2008
Course: Natural History and Geology: Yellowstone Lake
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
Seeing a grizzly is always a treat, but seeing a sow and cub a few miles off the road while hiking is electric! Such was our good fortune as we hiked to Sulphur Mountain in the Hayden Valley. The pair was “chilling” on one of the few remaining ice patches about two hundred yards from where we stood. We quietly watched them snooze and play, then move off as we observed from a safe distance.

June 23, 2008
Course: Yellowstone for Families - Mammoth
Observer: Shannon Burgess, instructor
During our Monday morning orientation session, we were startled by the sight of elk running fast along a ridge above us – as we peered from the window of our classroom. When we moved out to the deck to get a better look, we counted a herd of at least fifty elk being hotly pursued by a loping grizzly. They disappeared below the ridge line a few minutes later. Only the audible signs of distress from the elk ensued. Then silence. The group was in awe of what they witnessed, and not one lifted a camera the whole time to snap a photo. They were content to just watch and be immersed in a Yellowstone moment. We could not have planned a more delightful animal orientation that morning.

June 22, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
We had the rare treat today of seeing three adult black bears interact with one another. It all began with a large male and a smaller female sniffing each other – each seeming to size up the other. Then another male wandered onto the scene. The female promptly took off running with the new male right on her heels. The first male bear initially watched the chase then slowly sauntered along after them. Bears are highly solitary animals, so it is not often – even during the current mating season – that we see adults interact in this fashion.

June 21, 2008
Course: Learning Birds by Sound
Observer: Michael Kay, program assistant
This was a fascinating experience to actually identify birds just by the sounds they make. We listened and named the following birds: yellow warbler, common yellow throat warbler, chipping sparrow, vesper sparrow, yellow-headed blackbird, meadow lark, red wing blackbird, dusty flycatcher and many other waterfowl birds.

June 20, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
We stopped to watch a courting pair of black bears in the Little America area. It was not long before the cinnamon-colored bear disappeared into the trees, followed by the black one. Then, just as we were departing this site, one of my passengers looked back and noticed a huge grizzly bear emerge from over the hill. As we stopped to watch, it proceeded to cross the road just in back of us, so close that we could see its eyes and watch as the muscles ripple under its reddish brown fir.

June 18, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
Today we observed a pronghorn aggressively chase two coyotes for several minutes, driving the pair away from an area of sagebrush near Blacktail Plateau. Although not immediately apparent, a pronghorn fawn was probably stashed nearby. Later, we spotted a huge boar grizzly following closely behind a sow near the Lamar River trailhead in the foothills of Mount Norris. The boar rubbed its back high on a Douglas fir tree as he added his scent to its base.

June 18, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Druid wolves moved between two bison carcasses, feeding on each. The carcasses were that of a cow and a young calf. It is believed that the cow died naturally first, and when the wolves discovered the carcass, they also found the calf and took it as well. It is probable that the calf could not have survived on its own.

June 17, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We watched two grizzly bears, a male and a female, as they grazed on a high slope. They remained about fifteen yards apart as they moved in concert across the ridge. Perhaps mating was on the mind of the male boar.

June 17, 2008
Course: Finding the Elusive Amphibian
Observer: Dave Syfert, program assistant
We enjoyed exceptional weather for this unforgetable class. We alternately waded and walked the margins of numerous shallow ponds and streams with capture nets in hand. The class found and examined the stages (egg, larva, tadpole & adult) of several amphibians – including tiger salamander, spotted frog and western toad. We also observed and listened to Boreal chorus frogs.

June 15, 2008
Course: Yellowstone for Families
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We observed two young black bears – one cinnamon in color and one black – chasing each other. The black bear climbed a tree and stayed there several minutes, as the cinnamon-colored bear ran off in the other direction. Earlier, we had seen a very large male black bear moving through the woods in the same vicinity. We believe the younger bears were spooked by that large adult bear and sought to protect themselves.

June 15, 2008
Course: Yellowstone For Families - Grant
Observer: Jessica Winans, instructor
Two grizzly bears lumbered up over the hill, startling several elk just below. The elk moved away and bedded down. The bears initially kept their distance, but then slowly approached the group of elk. The next day, there were reports of an elk carcass in the area. Later in the day near Lake,a mother grizzly and her cub were observed feeding in a grassy meadow just twenty yards off the road.

June 15, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
We were lucky enough to be able to watch from only a short distance as trout were “hitting” mayflies emerging from the Firehole River. During hatchings, trout and anglers alike are very active along Yellowstone’s rivers. Mayflies and other insects may emerge in large batches for only a short time period.

June 14, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
While touring Fountain Paint Pots, we witnessed a large eruption of the so called “perpetual spouter” Clepsydra. Although eruptions are almost constant from this geyser, we could here this eruption from Silex Spring over a large crowd of people. Clepsydra was shooting water much higher than usual and then suddenly stopped. “Perpetual spouters” are geysers that rarely stop. Clepsydra is known to stop when nearby Fountain Geyser erupts so we were lucky enough to stop during one of the rare, quiet intervals of Clepsydra.

June 13, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Barbara O’Grady, instructor
We hiked to Trout Lake hoping to see otters but were instead treated to a sighting of a cow moose and her twins. The calves were staying close to Mom on the north side of the lake, trying to get the hang of their long legs.

June 13, 2008
Course: Wolves - Reality and Myth
Observer: Michael Kay, program assistant
We spotted a lone wolf traveling north along the Lamar River.It was black with a grey face and belly. Later, in the area of Hitching Post and the footbridge, we observed a group of three wolves harassing a grizzly bear. The wolves were part of the Druid Peak Pack, number 302 and two yearly females. We continued to watch the scene for nearly three hours, as the wolves interacted with coyotes trying to take a pronghorn fawn, and even crossed the road in front of us several times. Lots of action and excitement!

June 11, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Barbara O’Grady, instructor
A Druid Pack wolf yearling was harassing several coyotes near their den site. As we watched in the snow, the coyotes held their own, repeatedly running him off. There were wonderful vocalizations from the coyotes. The wolf was being a bully and eventually moved on leaving the stressed coyotes to recover.

June 11, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Barbara O’Grady, instructor
Noticing a small animal low to the ground and skittering through the sage, we stopped to get a better look. It was a badger. He approached the pullout we were in and seemed quite surprised to find us there. Everyone froze in place, including the badge as he sat peeking through the sage at us. Eventually, he moved away and into one of the large holes nearby.

June 11, 2008
Course: Essential Yellowstone
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We stopped to watch a wolf as it fed on an elk calf. After a few minutes, it moved off. We continued along the road, spotted it again, and saw two wolves – a black and a grey (possibly one Mollie’s and one Hayden). Suddenly a cow elk came out of the trees. She chased the grey wolf which turned in our direction, running flat-out. At about 25 yards, the grey wolf veered to the right and continued at a run until it was out of the way of the cow’s hooves. The wolf then slowed and moved off into the woods.

June 10, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Today's northern range wildlife tour turned into a smorgasbord of Yellowstone's lesser seen creatures. A jackrabbit jumped the road near Mammoth; a bull moose was spied near Tower and another in the Little America area; a red fox was observed hunting at mid day near the Yellowstone River at Tower, and pronghorn with fawns were seen nursing in the early hours of the day near Specimen Ridge. To top off the day, we spotted three badgers near the Lamar footbridge parking area. All it takes is a bit of patience to generate some of the fondest memories.

June 09, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
In their familiar nesting site at Floating Island Lake, the sandhill cranes escorted their newly-hatched colts on an excursion from the nest to the shore. They seemed to be sampling the various insects hidden in the grasses at the water's edge. At just a couple of days old, the colts were adorable and growing very fast!

June 09, 2008
Course: Photographing Yellowstone’s Early Summer
Observer: Tom Brown, program assistant
We watched a black bear and cubs just off the road north of Tower Falls. Both were very excepting of being watched while people were on the road. Once people started to press in closer, they ran off. This was a good example of the importance of keeping a safe distance, both for our benefit and that of the wildlife.

June 08, 2008
Course: Bears: Bones, Signs, and Stories
Observer: Glen Cope, program assistant
Our group stopped at Junction Butte this morning and watched a grizzly sow with one cub walking up the butte. As the group watched the mother and cub, a male grizzly was spotted 300 feet west of the pair. The male was working on a carcass, either a pronghorn or elk calf. Upon completion of its meal, the male headed south towards the pullout and came within 100 yards of us. We all retreated to the bus.

June 08, 2008
Course: Wolves at the Door
Observer: Dave Syfert, program assistant
A pack of five wolves harassed and divided a large herd of elk into smaller, confused groups. Eleven adult wolves were in sight at once, sweeping together westward across the summit. Later we watched three wolves cross the road to feed on a carcass near the river.

June 08, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
Today was a day of ungulates. We first saw three moose in the Petrified Tree area and then three more near the Soda Butte picnic area. To see this many moose in such a short time was a rare and beautiful treat. We watched as they moved thru the remnants of snow and discussed their biology and presence in the park.

June 07, 2008
Course: Bears: Bones, Signs, and Stories
Observer: Glen Cope, program assistant
We watched a grizzly sow with two cubs in the Lamar Valley this morning. The sow was searching through the sage, methodically covering the area in a zigzag pattern. It found and chased a cow elk and then found the elk calf that the cow elk was trying to protect. It pounced on the elk calf and proceeded to eat it.

June 06, 2008
Course: Who’s the Moose?
Observer: John Scarlett, program assistant
Our class walked part of the Bannock Trail, studying the moose habitat of Yellowstone’s Northern Range when we came upon a moose cow. It was raining and quite cold but the moose seemed at ease.

June 06, 2008
Course: Greater Yellowstone Coalition Annual Meeting
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
While stopped on the side of Highway 191 just north of West Yellowstone, in the midst of a conversation about the controversies of the 1988 season of fires, a newborn elk calf stumbled out of the woods intending to cross the road in front of us. No cow elk was in sight! This is a very busy highway with numerous large tractor-trailer rigs traveling at high rates of speed. Fortunately, the calf moved back to the grassy treeline instead of attempting to cross. On the third attempt, however, the calf successfully crossed to the safety of the other side and into the protection of the lodgepole pine forest.

June 06, 2008
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While hiking off trail, we skirted a group of seven bull bison as they grazed in a vibrant green meadow. As we stood in the trees to evaluate the bisons' movements, two sandhill cranes flew over our heads.

June 05, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
Our day began with the Slough Creek pack testing a small herd of elk near their den site high on the hill above us. The elk attempted to protect themselves by clustering on the far edge of a rocky cliff. Later, we located a carcass with six hungry Druid Peak wolves simultaneously feeding on it. Soon a grizzly bear approached, stopped, stood up on his hind legs and sniffed the air, then charged the wolves and their kill. But the wolves were not impressed, and the bear wandered back into the forest. The carcass continued to be a magnet for coyote, ravens and even a bald eagle. Still later, we were fortunate enough to observe a mountain fox hunting ground squirrels near Baronette Peak. It was quite a productive day!

June 05, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
We stopped at the Yellowstone Picnic area for lunch. All the tables were occupied so we spread out on the rocks and logs just beyond the furthest table. It was not long before we noticed that we were being scrutinized by a female pronghorn standing nearby. She slowly and cautiously made her way around our group until someone finally noticed that she had a fawn nursing. We realized the baby had been hidden in the tall sage, uncomfortably close to our position, and mom had circled around to rejoin her baby. They continued their brief nursing session then turned and walked away. The tiny fawn was the highlight of the day for us wolf and bear watchers!

June 04, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
The morning began with a young collared wolf from the Leopold pack scouting the Blacktail Plateau area. We watched her carefully surveying the area and her surroundings, which led to a discussion of the social behavior of wolves. After she bedded down in the sage, we were fortunate to spot a pack of coyotes escorting six pups out into the open. The tiny pups playfully followed their mom as she patiently led the way.

June 04, 2008
Course: Native Trout Conservation in Yellowstone
Observer: Dave Syfert, program assistant
The class assisted a National Park Service fish biologist in electro shocking, netting, and gathering data form several large trout at Trout Lake. All three fish had both native cutthroat and rainbow trout markings, but lab work will clearly identify the species or whether the fish are hybrids. We then watched pre-spawning behavior in the shallow water at the edge of the lake.

June 03, 2008
Course: Essential Yellowstone
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
This was a remarkable day of observing mothers and their young. We first spotted a sow grizzly and her cub-of-the-year grazing in the valley. We watched for about an hour and were treated to both raising up on their hind legs to sniff the air, making sure that no intruders (human or otherwise) were getting too close. Later we came across a black bear mother and two young cubs at Tower, rolling around and playing in the grassy meadow. Then at Floating Island Lake, we stopped to watch a cow moose nurse her injured calf. Still later, we saw a female Bighorn sheep and newborn picking their way across a treacherous but appropriate slope. Bison cows nursed their young in emerald-colored meadows; osprey perched high on their lofty nests patiently sitting on their eggs, and the lone pup of the Slough Creek wolves getting the attention and protection of the entire pack. The park is at its most lively and colorful self right now, as the spring rain and snow showers continue to fall.

June 03, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We observed a sow grizzly and her yearling cub foraging in the southern Hayden Valley. They seemed to delight in their digging and flipping of bison piles together, as they lumbered several hundred meters between the swollen Yellowstone River and the numerous ponds in the area.

June 02, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We saw quite a variety of Yellowstone's unique wildlife on this day. But more uncommon than the five grizzly, two black bear, bison, elk and coyote that we observed, were two Bullock's orioles, one Wilson's warbler and one yellow warbler. All three vibrantly colored birds were in the same stand of willow and aspen. Some scientists connect wolves to songbirds - how? More wolves keeping elk on the move allows aspen and willow shoots to get beyond the browsing stage of the elk, thus creating more cover and food for song birds.

June 02, 2008
Course: Flying Pig Wildlife Trip
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
We watched a large black bear who appeared agitated by the close proximity of people. Its body language led to a great discussion about animal communication signals.

June 01, 2008
Course: Geysers, Mudpots, and Hotsprings
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Walking through the West Thumb geyser Basin today, we found grizzly bear tracks in the thermal area. It is not uncommon for bears in early summer to search thermal areas for animals that did not survive the winter. We also spotted a cow moose and a very large beaver in the flooded willow of Willow Flats.

May 30, 2008
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While traveling from Lake to Mammoth, our group spotted a cow moose lying in the meadow at Willow Park. Upon closer inspection through the scope, we saw the tan ears of a very new moose calf lying next to her.

May 30, 2008
Course: Mammal Signs: Interpreting Tracks, Scat and Hair
Observer: Dave Syfert, program assistant
While the class was divided into teams identifying and measuring tracks near the Lamar River, we noticed a young black bear swimming across the river toward us. It seemed to be searching for food and did not react when we bunched closer together. However, when we shifted slightly upwind from the animal, it quickly swam away. Looking for its tracks afterwards, we discovered instead the tracks of an elk calf near where the bear had landed. Then as we left the Lamar area, we spotted a large moose in the bend below the road at Elk Creek.

May 30, 2008
Course: Grizzly Bear Basecamp
Observer: Jim Garry, instructor
This evening, we witnessed three separate failed attempts by wolves on elk. The wolves were seconds from catching the last elk when it jumped into Slough Creek. We believe they were either from the Druid Pack or the Unknown Pack.

May 29, 2008
Course: Grizzly Bear Basecamp
Observer: Patty Walton, instructor
As we arrived in camp along Slough Creek, we observed a bull moose in the adjacent meadow, browsing and chewing his cud. We continued to see him over the next two days. Later in the evening, we caught a glimpse of three wolves that may have been from the Slough Pack.

May 29, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
Our groups seemed to spot grizzlies on every hill in the Lamar today. They were all feeding on our temporarily emerald green meadows. Soon the green grass will fade to summer tans and browns and the bears will head for the high country. We also watched the bighorn lambs at Calcite Spring. Watching these days-old lambs skitter across the steep rocky slopes had us watching with wonder at their balance and agility.

May 29, 2008
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While traveling to Canyon, we saw two wolves–a black and a grey–perhaps of the Mollies Pack, on a freshly killed cow elk. The grey wolf lay off to the side while the black wolf gulped down chunks of meat. As the wolves moved off, an adult bald eagle flew in and landed on a tree. A few minutes later, an immature bald eagle flew in while the adult eagle chattered.

May 28, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ariana Mindelzun, instructor
Our day began by watching a newborn elk calf, wobbly on its legs, making its way to the safety of the sage brush. Following this, we watched a black bear sow with two cubs of the year. The cubs played in the grasses as the sow grazed nearby.

May 28, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
In the Lamar this evening, we came across two adult bison that had been separated from a calf by the swollen Lamar River. A coyote also noticed that the bison calf was alone and was approaching it. We watched as the adult bison made their way back across the river and the calf fended off the coyote. Eventually, the adults made it to the calf and they all headed towards a large heard off in the distance.

May 28, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Barbara O’Grady, instructor
We watched a black bear with two yearlings at Mary Bay. They moved along the flats at the base of the hillside opposite Mary Bay and then noticed a solitary bear not on her trail. We could not determine if it was a male or another female but it followed the sow and cubs up over a hill and disappeared into the snowflakes that continue to fall here in Yellowstone this spring.

May 28, 2008
Course: From Bison to Bighorn: The Hoofed Mammals of Yellowstone
Observer: John Scarlett, program assistant
After observing about ten bighorn rams (many with full curls) and ten ewes very close to the road, the class hiked the ridge above the Yellowstone Picnic area. We learned about the bighorn lambing habitat as we trudged up the ridge. Later, from the Calcite Springs overlook, we scanned the area across the Yellowstone River canyon toward the plateau we had just hiked. There, deep in the canyon below the plateau, were two bighorn ewes with newborn lambs!

May 26, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
At the west end of the Lamar Valley, we watched a sow grizzly bear with cub as it killed and ate an elk calf. Calving season has just begun, with bears typically taking more elk calves than wolves, or any other large predator at this time of year.

May 26, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
We saw two courting grizzlies on the Northern Range. We discussed grizzly bear mating and the incredible adaptation of delayed implantation. We also saw motherhood in many forms, from a black bear sow grazing with two cubs to cow bison herding their young calves across the road.

May 23, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
We were fortunate enough to get an exceptional view of the Slough Pack wolf pups, but what captivated us was watching a nervous herd of elk group together as some wolves drew near. We were able to discuss defense mechanisms while we were watching the activity. As park historian Paul Schullery put sit, “Elk just make more sense with wolves around.”

May 22, 2008
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We watched a grizzly sow with two cubs as they left the shelter of trees across from Indian Pond. The sow led the way across the open sage. She stood on her hind legs and looked toward Indian Pond and then began to dig for roots.

May 22, 2008
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We stopped at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Lamar River’s to talk about the park’s history. However, we spotted three cow elk behaving strangely. On close inspection, we saw that the elk were chasing two wolves, which left the area as a grizzly came into view. The bear made its way down to the elk and chased the cows, then walked back and forth. It found the hidden elk calf, grabbed it, and walked off.

May 21, 2008
Course: Wildlife Viewing on the Northern Range
Observer: Ashea Mills & Ariana Mindelzun
We discovered a cow moose on a sloped hill in the 1988 burned Douglas fir forest. She was bedded among the downed trees, seemingly not bothered by the cold rain. After returning to our bus, we had a nice discussion about the importance of fire on our ecosystem and the type of habitat moose prefer.

May 21, 2008
Course: Wildlife Watching in Grizzly Country
Observer: Shirley Cope, program assistant
A pair of white-faced Ibis flew in and joined our progress along the Lamar River. While scanning the meadows and ridgelines for wildlife, we spotted a lone grizzly emerging from the treeline and moving toward the river- nose to the ground. He swam the river, shook off the wet, and continued his path toward a carcass. The usual collection of ravens and magpies were already gathered on the carcass, and we counted four bald eagles swoop in at various times. Later, we stopped at the Yellowstone River bridge to check on some old carcasses and found two marmots wrestling and tumbling around an old tree trunk. We also noted a couple beavers near the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar that day.

May 18, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
We observed a black bear sow and her two cubs-of-the-year (COY) wrestling and playing near the forest edge. Soon, an intruding black bear, forced the sow to send her cubs up a nearby tree, while she chased off an intruding bear. Later, she ran at her cubs when they seemed to stray too far into the open, forcing one to climb yet another tree, while pinning the other to the ground as if disciplining it. Bear cubs in the open are vulnerable, especially to raptors, and it appeared that mom clearly made her point.

May 16, 2008
Course: Spring Wolf and Bear Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We observed a large herd of about 50 bison cows with days old calves running down a steep embankment into the swollen waters of the Lamar River. They proceeded to swim across the fast, cold currents of the river, with the calves swimming on the down river side of their mothers where the current is not as swift. Many calves seemed to barely make it across the turbulent waters. When they all did finally reach the other side, the calves and yearlings ran exuberantly as they worked to restore their body temperatures.

May 13, 2008
Course: Day Off
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On the upper western slopes of Mount Everts, I watched a foraging sow grizzly bear with her two cubs-of-the-year (COY). It was about 8:30 in the evening and no one else stopped to watch with me! To think that just one mile from Mammoth Hot Springs, I could witness this beautiful uncollared grizzly roaming free with two playful, yet attentive young in tow was truly amazing.

May 13, 2008
Course: Wildlife Viewing on the Northern Range
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Today we saw two grizzly bears engaged in courtship-like behavior. The slightly larger male seemed to be following the smaller female. The behavior included "wrestling" and other unique interactions reserved typically for mating season. Some speculate that such behavior is needed to trigger ovulation in female bears.

May 12, 2008
Course: Wildlife Viewing on the Northern Range
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Snow blanketed the roads as we made our way from Gardiner to Lamar Valley. By mid-day, the four inch snow had all but disappeared. While watching wolves near Slough Creek, red-tailed hawks, bald and golden eagles circled above our heads. In the distance, we spotted what we believed to be a Forster's tern. It hovered and swooped among the marshy areas of Slough Creek. Also, many hundreds of robins and juncos were feeding along the road sides of Lamar today.

May 11, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Barbara O’Grady, instructor
A small crowd of wolf watchers followed a Druid yearling as he moved west through the Lamar Valley. Three coyotes were in pursuit, agitated and intent on keeping him away from their den. Our eye was drawn to the scene as a heard of pronghorn vacated the area and a red tailed hawk flew overhead. The coyotes were successful in escorting the wolf away from their pups and calm returned to this portion of the valley for a time.

May 07, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
We were fortunate to spot a lone, yearling wolf - black in color - working the snowy sage meadows of Swan Lake Flats, probably searching for voles and ground squirrels on which to feast. Its large feet could barely keep him aloft in the slushy snow.

May 05, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
We stopped by Floating Island Lake to check on the sandhill cranes that have once again nested on the island. A red-tailed hawk, perched at the top of a conifer nearby, suddenly swooped down onto the still icy lake. As it skidded across the ice, the bird's extended talons snatched up the squirming salamander that had somehow found its way onto the ice.

April 29, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
We followed fresh grizzly tracks on the snow in the Tower Fall area. A grouse escorted us along the closed road above Calcite Springs. Earlier that morning, we observed members of the Slough Creek pack of wolves interact at their den site. There was much tail wagging and greeting as several adults returned from a carcass. Totally engrossed in the action at the den, we failed to notice the approach of a bull bison until the last minute. We quickly scrambled to our bus as the bison used our scope for a scratching post!

April 28, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
As the snow had yet to melt in the interior of the park, we drove to the Grand Canyon from Norris with about three feet of snow lining the plowed road. From Lookout Point on the north rim, we spotted an osprey sitting on its nest. Later, on our way back to Norris, we encountered a red fox crossing the road carrying a snowshoe hare in its mouth. As we neared, it quickly jumped up onto the snow berm and pranced off into the lodgepole pines with its prize.

April 27, 2008
Course: The Magic of Waterfowl Migration
Observer: Glen Cope, program assistant
Today, we observed a Caspian tern and a Bonaparte's gull. This is an unusual siting for Yellowstone. They may have been migrating through this area on their way to Canada.

April 16, 2008
Course: Suffield High School custom program
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
These high school students learned much about wolf social dynamics today. The light gray male wolf, often seen around the Druid pack over the winter, was found dead. The number one cause of death for wolves inside the park is other wolves. Competition for mates, territory, and other factors add up to a dangerous world, especially for a lone wolf. It is likely that the Druid wolves killed the light gray male. He had been hanging around the pack since November and is thought to have mated with one or more of the females. With the onset of denning season he was apparently no longer tolerated.

April 15, 2008
Course: Suffield High School custom program
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Even though winter is still hanging on, we are beginning to see signs of spring. Out on the snow in Lamar Valley we spotted a Uinta ground squirrel. The Slough Creek wolves were in and out of their denning area. During our day we also found some new bison calves, a yellow-bellied marmot out of hibernation, and some bluebirds eating insects hatching from the river.

March 16, 2008
Course: Day Off
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On a midday ski toward Slough Creek campground, I noticed two golden eagles perched in a huge, dead, yet still standing, Douglas fir tree. As I pulled out my binoculars to take a closer look, the male eagle hopped up to mount the female, while still poised on the high branch. Now that’s a balancing act! Incubation time for golden eagles is estimated to be about 45 days, which means there might be eaglets by early May!

March 16, 2008
Course: Fang and Flesh: Hunter and Hunted in Yellowstone
Observer: Ben Shelkowsky, volunteer
In the early morning a beaver appeared for about five seconds, ducking underwater when we stopped to watch. A couple days earlier we had seen two river otters in a canyon just west of Lamar. They popped out from a hole, sliding along the ice in the creek.

March 16, 2008
Course: Fang and Flesh: Hunter and Hunted in Yellowstone
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Our morning field trip found several instances of predator-prey interactions. We watched several magpies picking ticks off a bison and a coyote eating something out of the snow. Two golden eagles circled over the Lamar River causing the Canada geese there to start calling, then take off and fly away. The Druid wolves played in the deep snow. We watched the Slough wolf pack test elk; a group of six or so fending the wolves off by standing their ground. Later on we discovered an older kill with wolves and ravens eating the remains.

March 12, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
A quiet walk up the Pebble Creek drainage led us to some wild shapes and forms in the melting ice. We called them “ice volcanoes,” fast and cold water moving below holes in the ice which had been pushed up and had cracked around the edges. We stayed awhile, mesmerized by the thawing creek.

March 07, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We spotted three bighorn rams near the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers confluence grazing on lichen. We also heard a single wolf howling in the same area. The Agate pack responded from the east. We were able to see them near a kill site/carcass, traveling along a sunny ridge.

March 06, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
A sad fact of brucellosis is that cows abort their first calves. On our drive back from the Lamar Valley area, we came across a mixed herd of cow and calf bison. One cow was walking the road with some afterbirth material hanging. Since it is still very early in the season, she may have recently aborted her calf. This led me to believe that she might have brucellosis.

March 06, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Along a trail in Little America, we came across some animal tracks, possibly fisher. The fisher is a medium-sized weasel almost never seen or tracked in Yellowstone. Actual population numbers are uncertain. The animal was using a snowshoe trail to avoid the deeper snow. The tracks could also have been made by a smaller weasel and distorted from the effects of weather.

March 06, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Around the Blacktail ponds we discovered two cow elk carcasses which appeared to be freshly killed. After waiting awhile, about seven Leopold wolves appeared, a couple of which came into feed for a short time. Sometimes wolves do kill more than one animal in a hunt, as single wolves may pick out different elk to test. Most hunts are actually unsuccessful but sometimes the opposite is true.

March 05, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
As we returned from a snowshoe hike to Trout Lake, we observed two kills at Blacktail Deer Plateau. One had two bald eagles and a golden eagle on it. The other, a bald eagle. We watched as ravens and magpies tried to share in the feast.

March 05, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Four bighorn rams grazed and lay on the hill at the trailhead for the confluence of the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers. We parked the bus, got out quietly to gear up for our snowshoe hike going out of our way to avoid the rams, then regained the trail and continued along the rim above the river. We looked back to see the rams following us down the trail! We decided to move ahead to get out of their way. Luckily they made their way down to the river’s edge, leaving us to our hike.

March 05, 2008
Course: Winter Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We had a close-up look at more than fifty pronghorn along the Old Yellowstone Trail.  Many bucks were obviously building back their horns made out of compressed hair. Near the base, all around their horns there was loose hair. The hair begins to compact from the top, angling downward. They are about halfway through finalizing their horn growth. The bucks are the only North American horned animal that sheds its sheath once a year.

March 03, 2008
Course: Yellowstone's Winter Explorers
Observer: Anita Edington, volunteer
This morning we watched some ravens harass a golden eagle. We also saw a Slough wolf, three eagles, and numerous ravens on a carcass, just above the Slough Creek pullout. On our afternoon snowshoe hike to the Rose Creek acclimation pen we encountered a group of territorial bison, causing us to detour around them.

March 02, 2008
Course: Yellowstone's Winter Explorers
Observer: Anita Edington, volunteer
At first light we watched the Druid pack travel eastward from a carcass about one mile east of the Lamar Buffalo Ranch. About a half hour later we spotted a muskrat in Soda Butte Creek just above the confluence with the Lamar River, as well as some American dippers and Barrow’s goldeneyes. Above the confluence, across from “Hitching Post” pullout, we observed some bighorn sheep. In the afternoon we found a beaver on the bank of Soda Butte Creek less than a mile west of the cone. All in all a good variety of “critters” in a fairly small area.

March 01, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
We spotted a young bison in Little America which still had the chestnut brown color of calves only a few months old. Most calves are born in late April and May, turning dark brown by August. This calf was starting to change color, meaning he was probably born as late as November, but somehow has managed to survive the deep snow and cold of a Yellowstone winter. He was also moving well with the herd. We saw him two days in a row and the group had covered at least five miles over the snowy landscape in a few hours.

March 01, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Today Yellowstone National Park celebrated its 136th birthday! As Yellowstone was originally set aside for its unique geological wonders, our group felt honored to be the only ones at a late winter eruption of Fountain Geyser at Fountain Paint Pots, part of the Lower Geyser Basin. Wildlife also makes Yellowstone special, and this week we spotted five bald eagles in one spot, moose and grouse tracks along the snowy trail to Lone Star Geyser, and sightings of multiple wolf packs.

February 28, 2008
Course: Honing the Vague Verb
Observer: Don MacDougall, volunteer
A white-tailed doe and yearling stood by the road near the Yellowstone River and “Wrecker” pullout.

February 24, 2008
Course: Watching Winter Wildlife
Observer: Ben Shelkowsky, volunteer
We saw one red fox near Soda Butte searching for food on the flats close to the creek bed. On the way to Cooke City before exiting the Northeast Entrance, we saw two moose, probably adult females. They were standing apart on either side of the road, browsing in a forested area.

February 24, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
The group observed the Agate wolf pack take interest in a small group of elk near Pleasant Valley, Tower Junction. They quickly lost interest and traveled a short distance west to nap on a ridge together. On another day we saw a moose cross the road near Barronette Peak. Also, the Druid wolf pack was bedded on top of Specimen Ridge only 30-40 feet from a large 6 point bull elk who remained standing, looking alert, most of the hour we observed him.

February 23, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Today we observed eleven Druid wolves, one coyote, and one red fox, all at the same time in Lamar Valley. Only a small number of foxes have been seen this winter but we saw two this week. Some crusty snow has developed during the warmer weather, perhaps allowing the lightweight fox to come out in the open and be able to avoid getting caught by the heavier coyote.

February 22, 2008
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
As the chill set into our fingers and toes, the sun greeted us from east of Lamar Valley with a temperature of 3°F. We watched eleven Druid wolves move up a snow-covered hill along Specimen Ridge, scent marking and sniffing as they went, to indicate their territory. They seemed oblivious to us as we watched them interact with some bison.

February 19, 2008
Course: Winter Wildlife Expedition
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
The entire Druid wolf pack was seen east of Lamar Buffalo Ranch, traveling east along ridge tops north of the valley road. A dark gray male from outside the pack led the “bar” sisters into a group of aspen trees below and slightly east of the pack. The two females, “bright bar” and “dull bar” made themselves available to mate with the lone male. He mounted and “tied” with one of the sisters for five to ten minutes at about 10:30 a.m. We heard some howling during the one-and-a-half hour process, then most of the wolves laid down for a midday nap.

February 18, 2008
Course: Family Winter Holiday
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched the Druid wolf pack on an elk carcass. Even though we were first on the scene, we were still a bit late to see actual event. There were plenty of eagles, ravens, and magpies waiting to grab a bite. We also saw a fox sleeping curled up in the snow. It kept opening its eyes every time the wildlife watchers made too much noise, but continued to sleep regardless of the disruptions.

February 15, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
We snowshoed out to 9F’s old den, discussing the incredible opportunity we had to watch the collaring of one of the Druids in Lamar Valley. It was a crystal clear day. The head of the Yellowstone Wolf Project had also collared some Agate pack wolves. One of them howled below Specimen Ridge. It made a perfect backdrop to the story of #9F, since the howling wolf could have been one of her descendants.

February 13, 2008
Course: Trinity Lutheran School custom program
Observer: Don MacDougal, volunteer
We saw a cougar cross the road between Ice Box Canyon and Round Prairie around 8:45 in the evening. We also saw a fox on the road near Round Prairie right after the cougar crossing.

February 13, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On our ski day to Tower Waterfall, some of us saw a cow moose near Calcite Springs overlook…a first for this instructor during winter! After lunch we spotted a bull moose browsing willow near the Tower General Store! We thought we couldn’t top that but on our snow coach ride to Old Faithful the next day, an uncollared gray female wolf watched us for a few minutes near the Mount Holmes trailhead. She might have been the lone adult female from the Hayden pack. We concluded our tour with a beautiful view of a red fox at Artist Point on the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

February 13, 2008
Course: Yellowstone on Skis
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
At Canyon we spotted a red fox walking in the road. It trotted ahead then turned off the road onto the ski trail. When later on we stopped at the Chittenden Bridge to look at the Yellowstone River, we were able to watch four otters play at a hole in the ice. We saw them slide in the snow, scent mark, and roll over each other.

February 09, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
There was a good deal of commotion in Lamar Valley today caused by a stuck snowplow. Above the traffic jam, on the hills north of the road and east of the Buffalo Ranch, one of the gray Druid pups had a stick or piece of ice to toss overhead, watch slide down the slope, then pounce on again and again. The wolf pup seemed oblivious to the other members of the pack and certainly unconcerned with the human activity below.

February 08, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
Despite the wind, it was a beautiful morning in Lamar Valley. We arrived at about 8:30 Friday morning to find the Druids on a recently killed elk calf. The wolves busily helped themselves--a group of fifteen, plus two interlopers which are still attempting to join the pack. We watched as they finished up and began to move off in different groups, tails wagging, running, pups playing enthusiastically en route, bellies full. Two bald eagles soared overhead, and one very brave coyote sat patiently by the roadside watching, awaiting their turns at the carcass. The coyote was disappointed by one of the gray interlopers who stole the chance to feed.

February 07, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We were blessed with the closest encounter we could ask for with wild trumpeter swans. Along the Madison River, about ten swans moved up and down the free flowing water right next to us! As we watched, a bald eagle flew past, searching for an afternoon snack of a duck below. Luckily for the duck’s sake, the eagle just did a fly by without making contact.

February 06, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
The day was mostly cloudy with sun breaks. While we searched for mountain goats on Barronette Peak, we observed a golden eagle soaring among the snowy cliffs and frozen waterfalls, eventually landing inside a small dark cave. A very large avalanche of cold light snow plummeted from the summit, billowing along its steep rapid descent and covering the rocky cliffs, dark green conifers, and multi-colored icefalls to the bottom of a large run-out shoot between two thickly forested slopes.

February 06, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
A northern Pygmy owl hurled out of the spruce/fir forest near the Northeast Entrance to crash land on the road next to us. We could see the two eye patterns on the back of the nape of its neck as the tiny owl swiveled its head 180 degrees several times to reorient itself. They appeared and disappeared as it looked into the forest then back at us. The Pygmy owl took flight, revealing a mouse crushed in its tiny sharp talons, and carried its prey back into the densely forested habitat it had appeared from.

February 05, 2008
Course: Winter Wildlife Expedition
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Part of the Druid pack was north of the Lamar Buffalo Ranch. They howled and were answered by other pack members south of the road. The howling spanned several minutes. We could hear a very low tone weaving through the other sounds.

February 05, 2008
Course: Winter Wildlife Expedition
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We observed a dark gray interloper longingly watch the Druids. A light gray interloper came up over the ridge to join the darker wolf. A black Druid female also came up the ridge to greet the lighter one. She was joined by a gray female. While the three wolves greeted and danced around each other, the dark gray male tucked his tail and slunk away.

February 04, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
At 10 a.m. we observed two wolves near Elk Creek howling often and meeting along a deeply snow-covered ridge among the old burned forest, a bison and an eagle perched high in a snag nearby. The two wolves, one black and one gray, then walked away from each other, soon joined by another wolf each of their similar color. The grays were the Agate Creek alpha pair with two other black wolves. Later on, around 3 p.m., we watched 302M, the “Casanova” black wolf of the Druids, lope thru deep snow out of Lamar Valley onto the road. He was all by himself, probably searching for females to mate on his return to the rest of the pack.

January 30, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
The whole bus watched the Druid Peak pack chase and test, and chase and test, then strategize, regroup, and chase and test again, many small herds and individual elk on a nearby south facing slope in Lamar Valley near “Picnic” pullout. Several times we believed the pack had certainly surrounded an elk to prey on. The elk, however, somehow evaded the wolves. Eventually two cows from a group of six elk attacked and challenged one wolf, then several wolves. The elk stood their ground, stopping the predators from making a kill, and survived another encounter with the infamous Druid Peak pack.

January 28, 2008
Course: Boulder Creek Academy custom program
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched the alpha female of the Druids approach the alpha male. She pawed at him, encouraging him to get up. She was in estrus, blatantly flirting with her mate by climbing on him and acting very playful.

January 28, 2008
Course: Boulder Creek Academy custom program
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched the alpha female of the Druids approach the alpha male. She pawed at him, encouraging him to get up. She was in estrus, blatantly flirting with her mate by climbing on him and acting very playful.

January 28, 2008
Course: Yellowstone on Skis
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Yellowstone showed us true winter weather with white-out conditions through the park. On Swan Lake flats, our snow coach driver Tyrene held the wheel with both hands, leaning forward to peer ahead. She drove from snow pole to snow pole, sometimes having go stop and wait until the blowing snow cleared enough to allow us to find the next pole!

January 23, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On a cold day, with temperatures as low as -45°F in Lamar Valley, our group was treated to some great wolf interactions! Some of the Druid Peak pack had killed a bull elk. A single wolf not associated with the pack was nearby, trying to gain the attention of some of the females. His tactics annoyed the Druid beta male but, after a short chase, two black colored wolves left with the lone male. Set in an aspen stand with deep snow and cold temperatures, this made for a wonderful winter scene.

January 21, 2008
Course: Winter Wildlife Expedition
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
East of Soda Butte Cone, we saw ten of the sixteen Druid Peak wolves feeding on a bull elk carcass. One gray wolf lay under a lone pine tree, separate from the pack. A black wolf walked up to displace the gray, then down to the kill. It was followed by the gray, which, after some barking and growling, was allowed to feed.

January 17, 2008
Course: The Wolves of Yellowstone
Observer: Ben Shelkowsky, volunteer
The group watched a solitary red fox for about thirty minutes at the first pullout east of the Buffalo Ranch. Meandering in the flat of the Lamar creek bed, it seemed to be searching for food.

January 15, 2008
Course: Yellowstone on Skis
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We were the first people this morning to ski the trail to Lone Star Geyser Basin. We skied quietly, coming around the corner to surprise a pine marten crossing the trail about twenty feet in front of us. It stopped to look at us before bounding on its way. The cream of its chin and chest, and the red-brown of its body, showed up well against the monochromatic black and white of the trees and snow.

January 12, 2008
Course: The Buffalo Story
Observer: Rick Wallen, instructor
The busload of students and I observed a female white-tailed deer along the road near the east side of the Yellowstone River bridge. The deer looked at the bus as we approached her and immediately ran off to the south, uphill into the forest.

January 12, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
We had a great day of watching the Agate Creek wolf pack. The highlight was watching as the Agates chased elk twice and almost caught them. Unlike what many times is shown on videos and television, most chases are actually failures. As is also the case that females and younger wolves led both chases. The big males and older individuals may not participate as much in the early “chase” stage of the hunt.

January 12, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched an otter come up under a goldeneye, lift the duck out of the water, then kill it. This was rare because otters usually hunt fish.

January 04, 2008
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
Druid male wolf #302 walked in front of us to go retrieve some of the pack’s pups who were with a gray male of unknown origin. This is one of two males perhaps trying to join the Druids. The older animals, especially #302, are not allowing it. Interestingly, the Druid pups are readily accepting the stranger. When the pups rejoined #302, he pinned them to the ground and they were very submissive. The unknown gray male did not approach #302, tucked his tail, and ran away. This series of events has been common lately. The two unknown males are hanging around the Druids, unaccepted, and perhaps perceived as competition by the other adult males.

January 02, 2008
Course:
Observer: Meriwether Anderson Sale, volunteer
On the Mammoth-Tower road, about 200 yards east of the Blacktail Plateau parking area, we sighted a bobcat loping west on the road as we approached by car. Noting our presence, he turned quickly south, jumping over a roadside snow bank, gaining cover in the roadside timber.

January 01, 2008
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
During our Northern Range snowshoe hike, we happened upon very fresh mountain lion tracks—so fresh the snow kicked out from each track had not solidified on the surface. Finding the tracks of a solitary animal is not unusual for this species. The next day on the groomed cross-country ski trail to Tower Falls, we passed bobcat tracks and scat, most likely from the night before. On the day after that, during our snow coach ride to Old Faithful, we observed for fifteen minutes a bobcat feeding on a bull bison carcass. The cat was sitting inside the chest cavity of the bison—completely inside—feeding on remnants along the rib cage and upper chest. We crossed our fingers in hopes of seeing a lynx on the way out but, alas, no lynx.

December 29, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
A badger sat on top of a mound just before Hitching Post turn out at the confluence of the Lamar and Soda Butte rivers. He watched us for a moment before diving back into his burrow. Further down the road, east of Floating Island Lake, we spotted a dead elk. Over thirty ravens and a number of magpies roosted in the trees. Two coyotes fed, looking up warily at the magpies coated in red blood.

December 29, 2007
Course: Family Winter Holiday
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
A dozen ravens teased four wolf pups. They hovered just out of reach above the wolves’ heads while the pups jumped up in the air, trying to reach the birds. There was no food nearby to attract the two species together, which made this a wonderful example of play between them.

December 28, 2007
Course: Winter Wolf Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
As a rare event, we witnessed a red fox being chased by a wolf! Wolves readily chase and kill coyotes—near carcasses especially—but it is rare to see a wolf chase a fox. The wolf may have been a younger wolf “experiment.” The chase lasted several minutes and covered perhaps a mile or more over snow-covered ground. The wily fox, light on his feet in the snow, was able to outmaneuver the heavier wolf.

December 25, 2007
Course: Winter in Wonderland
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Christmas day gave us a view into the real Yellowstone. We watched eight of the Druid Peak wolves feeding on a bison carcass. On our snow coach ride to Old Faithful the next day, we counted near sixty trumpeter swans! There are only a few resident swans in Yellowstone but winter attracts larger numbers to the open (unfrozen) water. On another day, below Fishing Bridge, we watched six coyotes, one of which was feasting on a signet trumpeter swan. Two of the coyotes conspired to take it away from a single dominant coyote. The scheming coyotes made their move, tag-teaming the one…their plan worked!

December 08, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Three
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
A coyote was eating on a carcass when fifteen Druid wolves approached at a dead run. They were out of the distracted coyote’s line-of-sight until the last second, at which time the coyote ran off, tailed tucked as when threatened. Wolves have been known to kill coyotes on carcasses, but this one was able to get out in time to run down the road, where often will not follow.

December 07, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Three
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
We watched the Druid wolves feed close to the road on a carcass killed by another pack. Only a few wolves would come this close to human presence. People at the pull-out, though at a legal distance, created a disturbance for the wolves. Instead of eating at the carcass, a few wolves carried pieces away to the rest of the pack. Wolves are adaptable enough to change their behavior to get by. It would be more usual for wolves to feed on the carcass until there is little left.

December 05, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
The Druid wolves displayed several greeting behaviors. As they gathered up, we watched them greet, howl, tail-wag, lick, and show other signs of recognition.

December 04, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
On this day we saw a small, red bison calf feed at its mother’s side. It is unusually late in the season to see red calves. Elsewhere, we heard a pack of coyotes howl, then bed down. We also watched some ravens bathe in Slough Creek.

December 03, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Two coyotes chased and attacked another one at a carcass. They grabbed and bit it, but it was able to jump up and escape.

December 03, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Three
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
On this day, while we watched a wolf pup eating, we counted 30-40 ravens on and around the carcass with the pup. Immediately after the wolf left, a coyote appeared within 50 yards. Amazingly we hadn’t seen him in the sage, hidden well by his camouflage coloring. As the coyote came up to the carcass, he harassed a few of the other ravens, which vocalized, circled the carcass, and then all flew off together. Though ravens will eat with coyotes, wolves and ravens seem to tolerate one another better.

November 30, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Druid Peak wolves trailed behind a fleeing elk herd in Little America. A few elk struggled to keep up but the wolves never could catch up to the stragglers.

November 29, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
On Amethyst Bench, bighorn rams moved through a herd of 35 sheep, checking the ewes for receptiveness.

November 28, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
We found an unknown gray wolf attempting to join the Druid pack. It was jumpy and nervous, then submissive, when it ran from the adult wolves.

November 24, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session One
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
The Druid wolves chased a bull elk, then gave up and headed south. As we drove to Lamar Valley, we again discovered wolves, this time heading toward the road. Lead by “road-tolerant” #302, all of the pack but two crossed to the other side. The other two stayed behind and howled. One of these, a black pup, has many times refused to cross a road to stay with the pack. Soon after, the two became three as an unknown gray wolf—one of two recently in Lamar Valley—joined the pups. This wolf led the two younger ones across the road to the rest of the pack on Jasper Bench. The pack greeted the pups while the unknown gray remained at a distance. He watched from there and has been seen on an off since, perhaps trying to join the Druid pack.

November 23, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session One
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
At the end of the day we observed the adults of the Oxbow pack approach and chase a bison up Hellroaring Canyon. This pack has not been known to kill bison in the past but proceeded to attack and grab at a bison calf. The action only lasted a few seconds however, because a big bull bison ran down to chase away the wolves. Bison are very formidable prey, and defend one another from predators. It is no wonder very few Yellowstone packs prey on bison especially, in this case, when a large bull helps out in defense of the herd.

November 21, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
This afternoon we spotted a decent-sized grizzly bear walking slowly and sniffing around the sagebrush flats of Little America. Considering recent cold weather and snowfall, most grizzlies in Yellowstone are normally hibernating by this time.

November 11, 2007
Course: Hunter, Hunted
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
The class hiked out to Number 9’s old den site in Little America. Upon our return to the bus, we spotted a large grizzly bear (probably a boar) on the north side of the road. The grizzled hairs rippled as the bear moved slowly across the grass/sage flats, grazing and smelling for food. We watched for 15 minutes until he slowly wandered off to the north.

November 10, 2007
Course: Hunter, Hunted
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
We went out into Lamar Valley early to watch wildlife. We spotted the Druid Peak Pack in the eastern end of the valley. The wolves had been on the carcass of a bull elk they had taken down a few days earlier. We watched as they traveled west. They spotted a small herd of bull elk. They grouped up, trotted up hill toward the elk. The elk saw the wolves and ran. The wolves singled out a single bull and surrounded it. He stood his ground, once kicking a wolf which went flying. This was a perfect example of what we had been discussing in class: that if an elk stands its ground, it usually will survive and that wolves can’t just take down any animal they want. The wolves quickly gave up on the elk and continued west, finding another elk to test. This bull also passed. Suddenly the pack looked west and began to run. They ran up on the Slough Creek Pack who had ‘trespassed’ onto the thin line between pack territories. The Sloughs had taken down an elk in the night. Most of them spotted the Druids coming and took off, though a few pups seemed to be unaware of the Druids coming on. The chase was on! The Druids chased the Sloughs and then returned to the kill where they had their morning meal.

November 08, 2007
Course: Jefferson High School group program
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
While looking for wolves in Lamar Valley, we spotted the Druid Peak pack chasing a bull elk. As we looked on, the pack captured and killed the bull. Shortly thereafter, an unknown pack of six wolves approached the Druids, upon which they chased the intruders out of the area. The unknown group, split in half by the chase, howled to find one another. After one to two hours, the pack reunited up near Specimen Ridge. As the elk move into the area, packs are becoming increasingly territorial. This new pack is probably trying to find a place to fit in but the famous Druids are becoming once again a large, dominant presence in Lamar Valley.

November 07, 2007
Course: Jefferson High School group program
Observer: Mary Beth Phelan, volunteer
As the last hint of light touched the skyline above Jasper Bench with hues of red and orange, we watched the Slough Creek pack fly down the slopes chasing bull elk. It was almost haunting in its beauty. The wolves, with tails flying high, scattered the elk in all directions. We watched until the cloak of darkness covered their hunt, but it is a hunt with an alpenglow backdrop that will always be remembered.

November 01, 2007
Course: Food for the Masses, Session Two
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
We watched a large group of eagles, both bald and golden, fight over access to a carcass.

October 19, 2007
Course: Greater Yellowstone Coalition - Women in Wilderness Retreat
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On the way to the B-Bar Ranch to pick up the group, I noticed a lone gray wolf along the dirt road, not a typical sight outside the park boundaries. As the bus approached, the wolf moved away from the road. After picking up the group the next morning, on the way back to the park, a sow grizzly and one cub-of-the-year ran across the road illuminated by our headlights. As the whitebark pine nut crop has not been great this year, there has been an increase in bears at lower elevations, closer to human activity. Before we entered the park boundary, two red foxes crossed our path as well.

October 16, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
The highlight of this day was five wolves on Swan Lake Flats! We counted three black and two gray wolves of this pack that has yet to be named. We watched a grizzly bear walk right through these wolves. Both watched each other warily without much interaction. We were able to get a photograph of the scene by putting the lens of a digital camera up to a spotting scope (digiscoping).

October 16, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
The highlight of this day was five wolves on Swan Lake Flats! We counted three black and two gray wolves of this pack that has yet to be named. We watched a grizzly bear walk right through these wolves. Both watched each other warily without much interaction. We were able to get a photograph of the scene by putting the lens of a digital camera up to a spotting scope (digiscoping).

October 10, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Today we heard elk bugling all around us! Away from the roadside and the main trails we watched a group of elk with two bulls, each trying to dominate the scene. They were sizing each other up, bugling, and charging, but no serious fighting. Another sign of the season was a bear den we located, dug out of the side of a mountain. It was well-camouflaged by tall grass and on an angled slope, not easily found.

October 07, 2007
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
On the banks of the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley, we watched a grizzly bear digging at something with its front paws, and then eating it. We couldn’t tell from our distance what the food source was.

October 06, 2007
Course: Master Artist Seminar: Our National Parks
Observer: Lisa Whitwell & Bill Mahoney, volunteers
Mammoth Hot Springs was sugar coated in this season’s first real snow, surrounding a smoldering Orange Mound.

October 05, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We toured Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin, then north to the Norris Geyser Basin. On a short hike to the Pocket basin area we came across a large bull bison. He stood by another dead bison lying in the steam of a nearby hot spring. This newly dead bison had been recently scavenged. We speculated about how it died, injury sustained during the rut? Old age? Thermal burns? We don’t know the full story but the thermal area is where the bison chose to lie down, a connection between two of Yellowstone’s natural resources.

October 04, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Hiking along the south side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we had to maneuver around a group of bison who had left Hayden Valley. Since the mating season has ended, dispersing bison can pop up just about anywhere! We made it safely around the group without disturbing them.

October 01, 2007
Course: Autumn in Wonderland
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched a bald eagle digging in a muskrat den. In the background a coyote dug up rodents on the shoreline of the Yellowstone River. Later on we viewed a turkey vulture, fairly rare for Yellowstone, flying over Canyon Lodge.

September 30, 2007
Course: Watching Wolves in Autumn
Observer: Lisa Whitwell, volunteer
The full Druid pack of seventeen wolves had become separated by the road and started howling. Eventually they reunited on the Lamar side of the road which was touching for us to watch.

September 29, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf & Elk Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
While checking out some scat on a trail in Little America, we encountered a badger. It poked its head out of a hole, and then went back to digging. Dirt was flying out behind the badger as it dug for hibernating Uinta ground squirrels. Some sources say a badger can out dig five adults with shovels, and many of our group now believe that!

September 29, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
The participants wanted to see pronghorn, moose, wolves, and bears – whew – and they got them all! As this is the pronghorn mating season, we saw a group in Lamar Valley with the buck taking full charge of his small harem. We spotted a bull moose in Soda Butte Creek feeding on willow. In Hayden Valley five of the Hayden Valley wolves were close by, but we had to let some visitors know not to run after them. This activity led to the wolves’ quick departure. By the end of the day we were able to find a black bear and cub feeding on rosehips. In addition, we viewed bighorn ewes and lambs foraging near Calcite Springs. They are at lower elevations at this time of year.

September 29, 2007
Course: Old Times on the Grand Tour
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While traveling along the East Entrance road, the group spotted a grizzly. The bear was blond in color. It voraciously ate the clover along the roadside, slowly moving along. We stopped there to watch for about 30 minutes.

September 27, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Each day of this program we had incredible sightings of wildlife, but on our trip down the Delacy Creek trail some of our group had chance sightings of great gray owl fledglings. These young owls stay near their next for a few months once they’ve fledged. They are the largest, though not the heaviest, owls in North America. Upon our arrival at Shoshone Lake we were greeted and circled by a mature bald eagle. It took numerous passes over our group.

September 23, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf and Elk Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
Our group observed several Oxbow pack wolves, both gray and black, testing a group of nine elk. There were seven cows, one yearling, and a large bull near the confluence of the Lamar and Yellowstone rivers. The elk, which were running from the wolves, grouped tightly and were very wary. Once the wolves moved on, the elk became more relaxed and resumed moving around and grazing.

September 18, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
While walking near a beaver pond, we observed a tiger salamander. It was apparently heading from the wettest pond area to the wooded lot nearby. Tiger salamanders are the only salamanders known to occur in Yellowstone and, although probably common, are rarely seen. At this time of year they are possibly traveling to a spot to spend the winter.

September 18, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Above the Yellowstone River, on the Yellowstone Picnic Trail, on our way to Specimen Ridge, we saw eleven pronghorn. The buck scent marked his territory and ran around, rounding up his harem. After we got back from Specimen Ridge, we drove to the Slough Creek road to watch three black Slough pack wolves. They were lying on rocks above an elk their pack had killed earlier in the day. One pup walked down to the kill, scattered the ravens, and began to chew on the carcass.

September 18, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched a young bull moose moving across the ridgeline in Lamar Valley. He was moving back and forth and looking very nervous. We then saw a grizzly bear down below him. Perhaps he knew the bear was there and was trying to find another way around.

September 18, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
Fall is the time when ungulates are mating, bears are in hyperphagia, and everyone seems to be getting ready for winter. Knowing that, we were still surprised at the amount of wildlife we found in less than two hours between Phantom Lake and Lamar Valley. We counted two black bears, one grizzly bear, dozens of bison and elk, many pronghorn, a coyote, and the Slough Creek wolf pack feeding on a carcass.

September 16, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf & Elk Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We observed 21 Slough Creek wolves together on western Jasper Bench. The adults regurgitated to feed the pups. They engaged in a variety of wolf activities: traveling and group howling, playing, greeting each other, bowing, Alpha male, and subordinate behaviors. Later on we found a grizzly bear foraging in Lamar Valley near a large herd of bison. The herd was made up of a few small cow groups and a couple bulls attempting to move the grizzly away. The bear sent one group running with a short lunge in their direction.

September 16, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf & Elk Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
At noon, an osprey soared over Little America with trout in its talons held aerodynamically upside down.

September 14, 2007
Course: Autumn Wolf & Elk Backpack
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Over the course of our three days in the backcountry we came across two cows and one bull moose bedded along a streamside, two elk herds—each with a bull, cows and calves, another cow moose eating willow and Canada thistle, two different grizzly bears grazing by a stream, and 13 bighorn sheep—mainly rams—crossing in front of us.

September 14, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We saw a black bear saw with a single cub eating grasses in a meadow. She headed up a cliff, leaving the cub behind. Suddenly the cub realized it was alone and tried to climb up the hill with no success. Mom came back down to save the day and showed the cub an easier way up the hill.

September 14, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Hiking up on a steep section of Specimen Ridge I looked down to find an out of place rock. Among the grass and bits of petrified wood there was a worked piece of chalcedony. Angled, and about three and a half inches long, the worked chalcedony was used to crack into animal bone to access the marrow. Early aboriginal people called this tool a hand axe. One of our program participants, familiar with artifacts, estimated the piece to date back to 1000 or more years old. We took pictures and left the awesome piece of early human tool right where we found it.

September 14, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
While looking for animal sign in Lamar Valley, we discovered raccoon tracks. The tracks were along the river in wetland habitat, where raccoons love to be. This is an extremely rare find in Yellowstone. Raccoon numbers in the park are probably rather low but we don’t know for sure how many may be here.

September 13, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Barbara O'Grady, instructor
On the trail to Clear Lake we observed a great horned owl and two ravens harassing a great gray owl which had prey and was not interested in sharing.

September 12, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Taking a short jaunt up the Glen Creek drainage away from Swan Lake flats, we happened upon not one, but three adult moose, two cows and one bull! The most interesting thing we noticed about the group, aside from them foraging solely on willow bunches, was that the bull’s antlers were not palmated. They looked like elk antlers, narrow with tines, but not flattened.

September 12, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
At the northern end of Swan Lake flats, two merlins flew over the treetops, calling as they went by the Glen Creek trail. In the meadow along Glen Creek we came upon three moose, one bull with interesting, elk-like antlers and two cows. Later on we counted nine spruce grouse foraging together near the trail.

September 12, 2007
Course: The Autumn Wildlife Show
Observer: Lisa Whitwell, volunteer
Two yearling wolves chased a bull elk in the Lamar Valley close to the Buffalo Ranch. Their lack of experience resulted in a failed mission but proved amusing for those of us watching.

September 10, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
Along the base of Specimen Ridge a pronghorn buck ran out across the meadow ahead of us. Other pronghorn lay on a hill nearby. The buck rubbed his horns on sagebrush, then scraped earth with his hooves, then urinated and defecated on the scraping to let us know this is his “territory.” When satisfied, he walked on and we also continued, giving his area a wide berth while he returned to his group.

September 09, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched an injured wolf called “Slant” trying to make her way up a very steep hill to the rest of the pack. The pups were ahead of her and waited for her to catch up, howling to her every time she was out of sight. When she finally caught up to the pups, they approached her with their tails wagging to lick her face.

September 09, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While hiking down the Chittenden Trail on Mount Washburn, we saw three bighorn ewes at a hairpin turn. While we waited for the rest of our group to catch up, two sheep trotted toward us. We bunched up as one put her head down and kept coming in our direction. We bunched up more, and then left the road to give them space. They followed us watchfully as we climbed down the mountain to the lower switchback and continued on our way.

September 09, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We started our morning with a melee of wolves! Seven total! The Agate pack met up in an open meadow in the Antelope Creek drainage with howling, wagging tails, and general greetings all around. Wolves were a wonderful way to begin our day. We also spotted a large grizzly bear rooting around in the high country on Mount Washburn.

September 09, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf & Elk Discovery
Observer: Brad Bulin, instructor
In the morning hours we saw an adult Agate wolf come back to the rendezvous site (the area the pups hang out in during later summer), and possibly regurgitate food. The whole pack soon reunited, with the adults leading the pups toward a carcass site off to the north. This was preceded by lots of tail wagging and awesome howling—a fairly common event when pup are this age and are rejoined by the adults.

September 09, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
This morning we saw the entire Agate wolf pack gather together for a group howl at their rendezvous site in the Antelope Creek drainage. In Hayden Valley we watched the alpha male of the Hayden pack return to their rendezvous site to feed the pups waiting there with the alpha female.

September 08, 2007
Course: Pelican Valley Grizzly Bear Basecamp
Observer: Kerry Gunther, instructor
We watched a sow grizzly bear with two cubs, three single adult grizzly bears, and five wolves interacting and scavenging at a bison carcass. We also noticed most of the rest of the wolf pack a few miles away. This was a good opportunity to further our understanding and appreciation of large carnivore ecology and interspecific interactions.

September 08, 2007
Course: Raptors on the Wing
Observer: Lisa Whitwell, volunteer
A huge golden eagle flew directly over the Yellowstone Association bus and soared the winds of the incoming front north of Wilsau, MT, at the northern part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

September 08, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we watched an osprey on a nest eating a large fish starting with the head.

September 08, 2007
Course: Roosevelt Rendezvous
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
On the Howard Eaton Trail near Mammoth Hot Springs we watched a Steller’s jay break into a land snail’s shell for the tasty treat inside.

September 04, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
There was a great variety of bird life on the Yellowstone River this morning. We spotted common mergansers, lesser scaups, and other waterfowl, along with a raft of pelicans, the morning light shining through their translucent large beaks. This may be among the last we see of them this season, as most have already migrated south. A flash of brilliant yellow caught our eyes as we followed a migrating Townsend’s warbler working through the riparian willow. An American dipper delighted our group with its incredibly stable footing in LeHardy’s Rapids while it fed on aquatic invertebrates.

September 03, 2007
Course: Fall Wolf & Elk Discovery
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We watched two young wolves, one black and one gray, interacting with coyotes, ravens, and magpies at a carcass near the Lamar River this morning.

September 03, 2007
Course: Unraveling the Canyon
Observer: Bill Mahoney, volunteer
On a geology course, not even focusing on wildlife viewing, over the course of a few hours on the same day we had very close sightings of a grizzly bear crossing the road near Antelope Creek, a bighorn sheep browsing just inches off the road near Tower, and a bull moose grazing inside the trees near Canyon.

September 02, 2007
Course: From the Ground Up: Botanical Illustration
Observer: Dave Syfert, volunteer
From our established area for plant specimen work we were able to observe a grizzly bear next to the Lamar River throughout the day. In the evening, a great blue heron flew over the bunkhouse.

September 01, 2007
Course: Grizzlies: From Dumps to Recovery?
Observer: Peg Erickson, volunteer
We went out both mornings of the course to Mount Washburn, Hayden Valley, and Antelope Creek. The only grizzly bear we saw was across from the Buffalo Ranch near the Lamar River each morning after we returned from the outings. It was a large bear, eating something in the grass, visible via spotting scope or binoculars from the ranch.

September 01, 2007
Course: FRom the Ground Up: Botanical Illustration
Observer: Dave Syfert, volunteer
We found several bear tracks imprinted in the mud of the Rose Creek trail after a night’s rain.

August 30, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While hiking to Clear Lake, we saw a brown creeper looking for insects on the trunk of a tree. Later on, we watched a coyote eating something near the road. He would grab a bite in his mouth, tilt his head back, and gulp the morsel. We watched for ten minutes as he finished his meal then trotted away.

August 29, 2007
Course: The Wolves of Yellowstone
Observer: John Scarlett, volunteer
The class observed the Agate Creek pack for five hours, and saw an incredible variety of behaviors. All agreed, however, that the most awesome sight of the morning involved wolf #113, the oldest wolf in the park (about 10 ½ years), and the founder and former alpha male of the Agate Creek pack. A puppy approached the resting “Alpha Emeritus” and literally prostrated himself in a gesture of respect.

August 29, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
At the Norris Geyser Basin we were lucky to see a sagebrush lizard, the only lizard species in the park.

August 26, 2007
Course: South Dakota State University custom program
Observer: Brad Bulin and Ashea Mills, instructors
We arrived at Amphitheatre Valley just in time to see nine pups and two adult wolves harassing a sow grizzly with one cub of the year. One pup got a good face slap from the cub, and a few pups got some nips in at the cub’s back end, but no one seemed intent on hurting one another. The Agate wolves, however, were serious about getting the bears moving.

August 26, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
We observed a female grizzly bear with her cub of the year traveling through the Antelope Creek drainage. The Agate wolves and pups were also there, testing the bears as they moved through.

August 21, 2007
Course: Day Hiking the Wild Yellowstone: Northern Range Area
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
While hiking off trail along the Yellowstone River, we heard wolves howling and saw two elk standing at attention across the river. A few minutes later we spotted a wolf sitting in the trees. Ravens were flying low in and out of an area, so there may have been a kill nearby.

August 21, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
On Antelope Creek we were treated to a view of a bull moose chewing his cud in the morning shade, the Agate pack wolves howling in the background. Some higher notes came from the pups, while the rich, discordant, melodious tones of the adults filled Amphitheatre Valley.

August 20, 2007
Course: Trails Through Yellowstone
Observer: Ashea Mills, instructor
To the misfortune of a cow bison and calf, we had a wonderful opportunity to observe several of the Slough pack wolves on these carcasses in Lamar Valley. At the same time we also counted up to seven coyotes, some pups, also taking their chances for a meal. As there was only one wolf at a time feeding, the braver coyotes were able to get a bite to eat.

August 20, 2007
Course: Yellowstone for Families
Observer: Janice Drout, instructor
From Lookout Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we saw three osprey nests. Two of the nests each had two chicks in them. The third had a chick standing on a fish, and then a parent landed after flying so close to us that we could have touched it.

August 20, 2007
Course: Yellowstone for Families
Observer: Shauna Baron, instructor
We watched a coyote walk very close to a bighorn sheep ewe sleeping with her lambs. The ewe stood up quickly to chase the coyote away. She continued until the coyote was well out of view, a wonderful display of a mother protecting her young.

August 18, 2007
Course: Writing Retreat
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
The deer and pelican return to our camp near the lake. We spot a downy woodpecker pecking wood.

August 17, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
Through the rain we watched the alpha female of the Hayden Valley wolf pack. Her very light color made her easy to spot in the green grass. As we watched, she moved out of the rain and into the cover of some lodgepole pines. Earlier in the day we had seen the Agate wolf pack chasing elk in the Antelope Creek area. We saw one uncollared and one collared black wolf come out of the thick tree cover. They might have been successful in their chase.

August 17, 2007
Course: Flying Pig Ed-Venture
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
The Agate Creek wolf pack fed pups in the area of the Antelope Creek drainage by traveling between the kill site and the rendezvous site.

August 17, 2007
Course: Writing Retreat
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Some more pelicans fly over camp, one comes back to circle us. We see yellow-rumped, Wilson’s, MacGillivray’s, orange-crowned, Townshend’s, and yellow warblers, all from the same spot, foraging in trees and shrubs by the lakeshore.

August 16, 2007
Course: Writing Retreat
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
We watch an osprey feed on a fish at the end of a limb. A mule deer doe with twin fawns orbit the campsite. At Plover Point, a flight of eight to twelve American white pelicans soar overhead.

August 16, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: Eric Bindseil, instructor
Our group watched a grizzly sow with four cubs of the year digging into the side of the mountain below Dunraven Pass while some of the cubs slept.

August 15, 2007
Course: Writing Retreat
Observer: Nathan Varley, instructor
Our lakeside camp is a good spot for birds. A bald eagle flies over us, five spotted sandpipers forage off shore, and a brood of Barrow’s goldeneyes float in the bay.

August 15, 2007
Course: Yellowstone Ed-Venture
Observer: MacNeil Lyons, instructor
We spotted three wolf pups and all the adults of the Hayden pack from a distance. It was a treat to see them – their stomachs looked distended from a recent feeding. We watched them through the thick haze of smoke from nearby wildfires. (Columbine and Promontory Fires near Yellowstone Lake)

August 14, 2007
Course: Yellowstone for Families
Observer: Julianne Baker, instructor
This morning we saw a coyote at Blacktail Ponds. It walked slowly with ears perked, stopped for a moment in a listening posture, then suddenly pounced nose first into the sage. It tugged at something, and then came up with a ground squirrel in its jaws. It sat on its haunches and gulped the squirrel. After a big swallow, it stood up and con