Coyote, Wolf

Coyotes and Wolves, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a coyote pausing above the Gardner River.
Still Sporting a Winter Coat

I have hardly seen any coyotes or wolves this spring.  Today was a good start in correcting that.  The first thing I saw to photograph was a pair of coyotes moving down from the Mammoth area toward the Gardner River below.

Photo of a wolf pausing near Blacktail Ponds.
Blacktail Pack Wolf

Not long after that I saw two wolves crossing the Blacktail Ponds area and headed my way.  Both wore collars.  Unfortunately, they changed direction and this photo is as close as I got to either of them.    As of December 2012, there were only 79 wolves in the park.   The highest count was 171 in 2007.  Ten wolves which lived in Yellowstone most of the time were shot in the first hunting seasons outside the park.  Most were shot within a mile or two of the park.  Eight of the ten were wearing radio collars.  Anyone with radio telemetry can now find wolves with the radio telemetry and shoot them when they leave the park which it seems people are doing.

While I haven’t seen many coyotes or wolves, I have seen quite a few red foxes which I used to hardly ever see.

Hawk

Osprey, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of an osprey taking flight above the Gardner River Canyon.
Ready for Takeoff!

It’s hard to write a blog while visiting Yellowstone in the spring because there is light until 9:00 p.m. and it takes an hour to get back to Gardiner where I’m staying.  Then there is dinner and downloading images.  I’m writing this while my car gets an oil change.

When people visit Yellowstone they’re looking for mammals, especially bears and wolves and they large herbivores they prey on.  But the park has a lot of interesting smaller animals, including birds.  I found this osprey in the Gardner River Canyon.  I’ve checked on four active nests in and around the park.  No eggs have hatched yet.  I haven’t seen any nests near the Gardner River.

Birthing among the mammals is well underway.  I’ve seen a few baby pronghorn.  Yesterday was the third day in a row that I’ve seen and photographed an elk calf in its first day of life.  I stopped at the Mammoth Visitor Center yesterday and there was an elk calf being born right next to the building on the lawn.  It stood up 45 minutes after being born.  I’m looking forward to seeing my first bighorn lambs of the year.

Badger, Red Fox

The Last Week in May of 2013, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of red fox kits playing at den site.
Red Fox Kits at Play

I arrived in Yellowstone on Sunday afternoon, May 26.  The red fox den near the Yellowstone Picnic Area was the talk of the park.  Hundreds of people came to see the foxes.  The den was only 60 yards from the nearest picnic table.  The Park Service put up signs and cones to keep people 50 yards from the den.  Seeing the parents all day long was great, but the best times were when they let the kits out to play.

I had gotten some good fox kit photos last year so I wasn’t as inclined as some to watch and photograph the foxes all day long as many people were.  I would stop by once or twice a day to see what was happening.  As it turned out, I learned that on  Thursday that just before I arrived a badger and the vixen started fighting some distance up the road and the fight continued to the den.  Many people photographed the fight at the den entrance.  At this time the kits were in the den.  I learned that when the badger got in the hole one kit ran out of the den entrance and the other got out an escape hole.  The foxes had another den about 50 yards away and the the parents rounded up the kits and put them there.  The badger never came out that day.  It is likely that the vixen had stored food in the den and the badger presumably ate it.  One of the parents was usually at the den entrance waiting for the badger to come out.

Photo of a badger moving from the main den to the second den where the fox kits are hidden.
Badger moves from the main den to the other new den.

Everyone came back at the crack of dawn Friday morning.  On Friday afternoon at about 5:00 p.m. the badger emerged from the den.  Neither fox was around, which was very unusual.  The badger went immediately to the other den and entered.  I don’t know if it had been to the other den before or it followed a scent trail.  When the mother returned she went to the new den site.  The badger had back-filled it and the vixen dug and dug, but the badger was able to fill it much faster than the vixen could dig.  The vixen bided her time outside the new den site.  I learned that the badger came out for a short time Saturday and there was another fight, but it was much shorter than the first fight and the badger went back into the new den.

There doesn’t seem to be any doubt but that the badger killed and ate the kits.

Another photographer told me that he talked to the NPS Ranger that had been there the day before and the Ranger told him that this pair of foxes has yet to successfully raise its kits.  I do remember hearing reports of foxes on the other side of  the picnic area last year, but I never saw them.  I think the photographer said that he was told the badger got the kits last year as well.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t there for the first fight.  (I missed the later one as well.)  Some people were there for the first fight though and they got good photos of it.  To see one person’s photos click here.

Another sad note is that the vixen that I photographed with her kits last May just outside the northeast entrance was hit by a car and killed.  Click here for my blog about her last year.  She left four kits.  One of them died, but someone is feeding the other kits.  But they have no one to teach them the secrets to living a long life as a fox.  Hopefully, it’s mostly in the genes.

Pronghorn

Pronghorn Doe and Fawn, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn mom and her young fawn.
New Life in Yellowstone

It’s that time.  If you like to photograph wildlife you should be in Yellowstone or on your way.  Bison calves are running all over the place.  Elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep are giving birth or will be soon.  The bears are also out and about, some with cubs.  It is the time to see and photograph baby animals.

This pronghorn fawn was born last May.  The doe kept it and its sibling between the Roosevelt Arch and the north entrance station for the first week after birth.   That’s when I left the park.  The area is bounded by three roads and a high steel fence.   It was crowded and noisy and wouldn’t seem to be a place for a wild animal to want to have babies.    It’s also about the last place around Yellowstone that I would want to be stationed for a week hoping to photograph some predators.  I don’t know if it was just happenstance or that mother pronghorn knew this was a good place to have her babies while they got stronger and were able to run fast enough to escape from a predator.

Landscape

Petaluma Riverfront; Petaluma, Calfiornia

Photo of the Petaluma River and old riverfront at the Turning Basin.
Old Town Petaluma at the Turning Basin

Here is another view of the Petaluma River and some of the City of Petaluma’s historic buildings that it passes as it winds its way through the City.  Not many cities have a river passing through it.  These buildings, and others just outside the photo, house some of the best restaurants in the North Bay.

Landscape

Petaluma Riverfront; Petaluma, California

Photo of Petaluma Riverfront from trhe East Washington Street Bridge.
Petaluma RIver Footbridge at Dusk

Here is another photograph of that footbridge which crosses the Petaluma River in  downtown Petaluma with some of the City’s historic buildings in the background.  The previous photo was shot looking north. This photo was shot looking south.  It was taken after sunset with three exposures to prevent the sky from being overexposed.

Landscape

Petaluma Riverfront, Petaluma, California

 

Photo of the Petaluma Riverfront with footbridge.
Petaluma RIverfront with Footbridge

Petaluma is one of those few American cities that has a major river running through it that provides access to and from the ocean.  It enabled Petaluma to become an important city in the early days of California.  The main section of town is comprised of numerous historic buildings.  Many of them are visible in this photograph.   The bridge you see in the photo is for foot traffic only.  The Riverfront Art Gallery, of which I am a member, is the cream-colored two-story building visible just above the right end of the bridge.