Yellowstone 2 - biffalo buffalo bison

Other than the tame elk camping on a hotel lawn the first wildlife we had a chance to snap were a Yellowstone specialty - it's said it's the only place in the United states where bison have lived continuously from prehistoric times (which is a bit shocking really).  Our first look was a herd moving down a valley and we hoped they might keep coming to the cameras, but they had obviously seen us and held back.

One of the iconic shots to aim for is the 'herd walking through snow straight at you', and that's what we had hoped for.  We had one other chance but short of lying on top of a well known wildlife photographer and guide I wasn't going to get the low angle needed!  The other classic bison shot is a 'hoar frost' shot, but sadly we never got the temperature low enough for that.  We did have low enough temperatures for the ice supply at the petrol station to provoke a smile though,

and we did have a pretty covering of snow

so it was the snow we relied on to add some drama, and one day we had enough falling for me to realise I had no experience of trying to work effectively in a snow shower.  I got some good snaps of flakes, but I did manage some pictures of the bison as well.

I spent ages trying to make something of this next shot.  When I took it I was pleased to have found it, but I just can't get it looking right. I guess you just can't force a picture.

The bison feed by sweeping their heads through the snow to get at the dry grass beneath

and when a few go through they leave obvious signs they were there - here a fox stops for a look at a bison trail.

Although they have a bulky appearance - a male can weigh 2000lbs - I was taken by their skinny ankles.

In fact they are surprisingly nimble - when I saw this one about to climb out the stream I expected it to haul it's way up, but in fact it just trotted up with  what seemed minimal effort

and I read they can run at 35 mph, hurdle over 5 feet and swim well. We only saw them knee deep in water however.

They can also lick the snot from their own nostrils, which is fairly cool.

They have a reputation for being grumpy, and certainly you could see some attitude at times.

Like our red deer, the magpies used them as a feeding station.

I really enjoyed the bison, although I kept calling them buffalo, and could have spent more time with them, but there was so much else to see.  There are more bison to come, but for now here are a few other snaps.