Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle, Yellowstone National Park

This is a photo of an adult bald eagle perched on a large rock in Yellowstone National Park.

I had just started my drive along the Old Yellowstone Trail when I saw this bald eagle perched on a large rock up ahead. The rock was right next to the road. I stopped well short of the bird and took some photos. I drove a little farther and photographed the bird again. Then I drove a little more and photographed the bird a third time. I was using an 800mm lens with a 1.4 tele-extender, so I didn’t need to get very close. At that point I was done. Time to drive past and, hopefully, not flush the bird.  As I passed, I was happy to see it didn’t move.
Black Bear

Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

This is a photo of a cinnamon-colored black bear resting on a rock outcrop in Yellowstone National Park.

As I was driving into Lamar Valley one afternoon in early June, there were some cars parked along the road where there is a large outcrop just on the other side of the Lamar River.  I stopped and asked a fellow what they were looking at and he pointed out this cinnamon-phase black bear, which was presumably asleep.   Someone said it might be dead because it hadn’t moved a muscle in the time that person had been watching it.  It looked to me like it was in a natural sleeping position so I got my tripod out of the car and put my 800mm lens on it.  The bear was over 100 yards away, which meant to me getting good quality photos was going to be iffy, especially with the high ISO conditions.  It finally stirred and looked at us.  After a while, it got up and walked away.

Badger

Badger Cubs, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of two badger cubs taken several days after their mother was hit by a vehicle and managed to crawl back to the den with a broken leg and possible other injuries.

When I arrived in Yellowstone on June 1, I was told there was a badger den with three little cubs just past Soda Butte and that the mother had been hit by a vehicle and suffered a broken leg and other possible injuries, but that she did manage to get back into her den.  I looked for the den the next few days, but didn’t find it. I  finally saw a badger den just past the Hitching Post pullout and quickly learned that that was the den the first person was actually talking about.

I photographed them on June 5 and 6, but never saw the mother.  During the time I spent with them they never played with each other, but instead had their noses to the ground all the time. I think they were searching for food.  To this day I don’t know the fate of the mother or the three cubs.  However, I looked for them for the next week and never saw them as I drove by.  It was a sad event.  I hope someone has more updated news.  I assume they all died, but would love to hear they all survived.

Black Bear

Black Bear, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a soaking-wet black bear after it swam across a pond.

I just got back from Yellowstone.  I used to go to Yellowstone for a month each spring, but I hadn’t been there since 2015.  A lot has changed.  Gardiner, where I stay, has been greatly changed by the fire several years ago. The park has changed due to the flood in June of 2022.  It seems to me some wildlife numbers have changed too.  I saw a lot less elk than I think I used to see.  I googled elk numbers and found an interesting article about elk numbers here.   I also saw a lot more bears than I was used to.  I didn’t google that.

Anyway, here’s one of those bears that I photographed near the Yellowstone Picnic Area.  It had just been in that pond across the road from the picnic area and was walking back toward the road.