Birds of Yellowstone

Bears!!!

Furry Little Friends of Yellowstone

They were Grand

Little Bighorm Battlefield National Monument

The Museum of The Rockies

The Museum of the Rockies is said to be the best museum in this area of the country, with that said I think it gives museums in New York and DC a run for the money. I think it has the best Dinosaurs exhibit that I have ever seen. You have "Big Mike" outside the entrance welcoming everyone inside, the layout and flow is great and it gives you the opportunity you see more then the norm dino bone fossils. The museum had a beautiful jem collection of huge specimens. Also the vehicle collection was very nice as well. Who knew Montana had such a nice museum on the campus of Montana State University (MSU)? I sure didn't... I only had time for a quick look and was only able to view these exhibits, but the museum has much more to offer, maybe on another trip.

Gallitin National Forest

Yellowstone National Park is surrounded by the Gallatin National Forrest. While driving to and from Yellowstone the forest was completely blanketed with fresh mountain snow. So many people are in such a rush to get to their final destination, they miss the ride. The way to Yellowstone was as beautiful as scenes in the park.

Babies in the Park

The Theodore Roosevelt newborn class of 2008. Spring is finally here!!! Things are starting to green up a bit, and the prairie babies are up and walking around. I saw my first bison calf last week and it was just born earlier that day. Someone said to me, "Mary... when did you become such a bison expert! How can you tell that baby was born today?" and I replied "Well I can still see the afterbirth hanging out of the mother's Orpheus." The one particular herd of bison took a liking to having their calves in the picnic area, I’m sure it’s safe to say that it isn't appetizing for the picnickers.
Other park babies are right outside my front door in the Badlands buttes, there are two Great Horned Owl chicks flopping around exercising their wings before they take flight. Also I have been watching the Golden Eagles nest in the park since I got here and it was the first time I saw the young ones. Because of my only 3X zoom I can't take any recognizable pictures of the baby birds.

Birds Gone Wild

Up at dawn to see what Spring Beakers are stopping in the park as they continue to migrate north. To my disappointment I mainly saw birds that live in the park year round such as the Flicker (photo 1), Chickadee (photo 3), Spotted Towhees (photo 4), and the Western Meadowlark (photo 5). However I did see some first comers (which weren't easy to photograph with my crappy zoom) such as the Cedar Waxwing (photo 2), various kinds of Sparrows, Kinglets, the Yellow-rumped, and the Black and White Warblers: which are the front runners in the Warbler migration. This only means it’s just the beginning of the movement, so I guess I will have to be out @ 5AM next weekend and do it all over again. I missed the Sandhill Cranes already; I'm not going to miss the migratory birds!

Cotton in the Sky

My walk along the Little Missouri right after sunrise resulted in some beautiful pictures. Of course I didn't see much wildlife along the way... only some noisy Canada geese, Wood ducks, and some Mallards. After the 1/2 inch of rain we had this week really helped the LMRiver, it was starting to look like a puddle, but now its high enough to canoe in, flowing steadily along and carry a lot of sediment. The Little Missouri even today continues to change the landscape of the North Dakota Badlands.

Finally Whitetails!!!

Well it only took me a little over three weeks, but I finally saw some familiar faces... the White-tailed Deer. Everyone has been telling me they hangout down by the campground and picnic areas, because it is more wooded than anywhere else in the park. After hearing this for three weeks and not seeing one, I thought the White-tailed Deer of TR are mythical creatures that really don’t exist. But this morning I finally found them and plenty of evidence that they hang out there often. Two species of deer live in the park... the more common Mule Deer can be seen all over the park, they are less afraid of people, have bigger ears, and a black tip on their tails.