Jim Coda Nature Photography

May 24, 2012May 27, 2018Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane near Blacktail Pond, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a sandhill crane. — A Sandhill Crane Near Blacktail Ponds

When people think of the wildlife in Yellowstone they think of wolves, bears, especially grizzlies, and elk. But there are lots of other critters. You can probably think of many others, but you may not put the sandhill crane on your list. Yet there are quite a few to be seen there. This crane was with a couple of others near Blacktail Pond. One other large bird I’m used to seeing here is the trumpeter swan. However, I haven’t seen any this trip and don’t recall if I saw any in my other recent trips.

June 22, 2010Uncategorized

A Week at Blacktail Pond (Continued from Yesterday)

Yesterday’s post ended with mama bear attacking her cub. While I said that I thought it was probably because she was agitated over the wolf having been at the carcass, there is more to it than that. The cub is 2 years old (actually 21/2 years old) and from mom’s point of view it’s about time for the cub to hit the road. Biologically, she’s ready to mate again. This fact is not lost on nearby male grizzlies. Here is one suitor who has come calling. The cub moved off when he came on the scene.

A grizzly sow and boar stand near a bison carcass in Blacktail Pond. — Grizzly Sow and Boar, Yellowstone National Park

The next time I saw the sow and boar they were in the act of mating a bit beyond the pond. The cub was in the vicinity of the pond, but making sure it kept a good distance between itself and the boar.

As I mentioned before, there were other scavengers who benefited from the misfortune of the two bison. One was a coyote who got some meat from the carcass on the east side of the pond and promptly left. It probably felt that with grizzlies and wolves around it could find a better place to enjoy a meal than at Blacktail.

A coyote leaves Blacktail Pond with some meat from one of the bison that died in Blacktail Pond. — Coyote, Yellowstone National Park

I mentioned earlier that bald eagles and ravens also benefited from the misfortune of the bison. I wasn’t sure I had any photos of them, but I looked and found one.

A raven harasses a bald eagle as it leaves Blacktail Pond. — Raven and Bald Eagle, Yellowstone National Park

This photo was quite underexposed probably due to the surface of the pond. It also has some noise. Note the blood on the beak of the eagle.

In addition to the wildlife, Yellowstone visitors benefited from the demise of the bison. The Blacktail Pond area was crowded with visitors, and photographers in particular, for more than a week.

For the most part, these photos were taken under less than ideal conditions due to poor lighting and excessive distance. The bear and wolf photos were shot at about 175 yards. In my experience you can’t get good quality images at that distance. The equipment used was as follows: Canon 500mm f/4 lens; Canon 1.4 TC; Canon 7D. I should also mention a book I have found to be very valuable in understanding bears in general and Yellowstone’s in particular. The book is “Yellowstone Bears In the Wild.” The author is James C. Halfpenny. You can find it at almost any book store. If you’re in Gardiner, Montana, you can pick up a copy of Jim’s book at The Paradise Gallery. If you go there, you should also check out the wildlife photos on display by several wildlife photographers, including yours truly.

June 21, 2010Uncategorized

A Week at Yellowstone’s Blacktail Pond

As I mentioned in my last blog, there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail Pond in the spring of 2010. The first scavenger I saw there was a coyote who was standing on the carcass which was in the water next to the east edge of the pond. However, it was the carcass in a narrow channel on the west side of the pond that became the center of attention for scavengers as well as park visitors. The first species I saw feeding on that carcass was a grizzly sow with a two-year-old cub. Here the cub nuzzles its mother. It’s May 20.

A grizzly cub nuzzles its mother at Blacktail Pond. — Grizzly Sow and Cub, Yellowstone National Park

The sow and cub stayed on a ridge above Blacktail when they weren’t feeding on the carcass. Another animal that I saw feeding on the carcass more than once was a lone wolf. Here he is the next day standing at the narrow channel. The bison carcass has slipped back into the water and is just under the surface.

A gray wolf stands on the edge of Blacktail Pond. — Gray Wolf, Yellowstone National Park

This wolf worked as hard as the bears to pull the carcass out of the pond and I was surprised that he seemed to get the carcass about as far out of the pond as the much larger bears, although in fairness to the sow she might have done better without her cub’s help because he always pulled at right angles to mom.

One afternoon the wolf howled after feeding which brought the sow and cub running full speed from the ridge above the pond. Here is a photo of mom and cub right after they arrive at the carcass. She is really “amped up,” over the wolf’s howls. When the cub approached the carcass as she was trying to pull it up on the bank she attacked it. More to follow.

A mother grizzly attacks her cub near a bison carcass at Blacktail pond. — Grizzly Sow Attacks Cub, Yellowstone National Park.

June 19, 2010Uncategorized

The Bison of Yellowstone

In my last post about baby bison I said that seeing and photographing them gave me a new appreciation of the adults. But for that I might not have stopped to watch and photograph this cow bison as she grazed on the succulent grasses in this pond. I wonder what the starlings are saying?

A Cow Bson Feeds on Succulent Grasses in a Small Pond — Cow Bison, Yellowstone National Park

Bison sometimes get into trouble when they enter the waters of Yellowstone. Not far from this tiny pond is Blacktail Pond. At the time I took this photo (May 2010) there were two bison carcasses in Blacktail. I’m not sure how they got in there, but once they got in they were in trouble. Blacktail is much deeper than this little pond and it has very steep banks. Because of its body shape, I think a bison would have a tougher time getting out of Blacktail Pond than any other species of Yellowstone. Their deaths, however, provided needed protein for several predators this spring. I saw grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, ravens and at least one coyote feed on those carcasses.