Top dogs

No wolves on this trip, but again some great times with canids,

The best of the encounters were with coyotes, but we had one day when foxes seemed to be all around - maybe not as close as this one in 2018 ………

but with a big lens you could still get some nice shots.

One even crept into my long lens flora shot. (What do you mean mis-focus).

The coyotes though supplied the closest and longest encounters - some of them are just so accommodating.

One was exploring a small island near the road, but I felt didn't make the most of the chance.  I hadn't realised how close it was when I got out of the Bombardier and in hindsight I wish I'd grabbed the 100-400 to allow a bit more space.  Still you can feel the apprehension before it walked the log.

My favourite was the one we watched hunting in a meadow.  Being in one of the more thermal areas there were patches of vegetation peeking through the snow which added a bit of colour, and I just loved the way it systematically worked the area, listening, sniffing, poking it's nose into gaps and even catching a few rodents.

Then to top it all it came and had a closer look at us.  Just brilliant.

If you want to get a feel for what the Yellowstone experience is like check out this video by Steve Mattheis - https://youtu.be/56t6TKzqm_k  He is based one of the Parks making up the Greater Yellowstone area.

If you like this one look also at his bison in the snowstorm video - again may help you understand why this place has really captured me.  https://youtu.be/0vM7MHqQh50

Urgings by Ravens

The raven has to be in my top 5 birds.  I remember 20 years ago how amazed I was to find that they regularly flew over our new house in South Wales; the day at Gigrin Farm when I first realised just how massive they are as one hopped past a smaller buzzard; the amazing range of calls we heard sitting overnight in a Finnish swamp waiting for bears - 33 vocalisations according to one set of researchers - bell-like or knocks so far removed from the standard in-flight 'cronk'; my sheer frustration at how the one visiting one of our feeding sites always knew that my camera and I were there despite all my subterfuge and patience - crows and jays down and relaxed for ages, the raven flying in but just sitting in the tree watching.

On my first trip to Yellowstone I was sad not to get a good view or shot of one.  On the trip this year they were queueing up to be snapped, and Cooke City 'Steve' sat on a car outside the diner and just shouted in my face as I tried to get back far and low enough to focus.

Back home a trip to another red kite feeding station at the weekend didn't lead to any pictures of note, but again those lovely resonant bell calls.

One day I'll get a shot of our local birds.

“Needless to say, urgings by ravens are ignored at one's peril.” James D. Doss

Yellowstone 2019 - Part 2

More whitewalkers …..

On my first trip to Yellowstone last year one of the disappointments was the lack of really cold weather.  We had bison in snow, but not in the hoar frost.  3 days into this years trip we headed down the Lamar Valley at dawn, and the dashboard temperature reading just kept falling.  By the time we stopped to snap this inversion we had hit -32 Celsius.

Further down the road we found the old bull again, and I pointed a lens at my first 'proper' heavily frosted bison.  He was lying down at first. a warm brown eye contrasting with the white crusted face (the version here is too small to see - trying clicking the image for a larger view).

He got to his feet allowing a range of shots although in hindsight I didn't really get the best angle, not low enough - sloping land, deep snow and the need to keep out of other snappers sight lines were part of the explanation, but I think I missed a trick.  Not sure if I prefer the colour version or the black and white view.  Again the detail is best seen on larger views.

We never otherwise quite reached the dizzying depths of that morning, but there were a couple of other chances to get shots of frosted bison in the Lamar Valley.  These were all single animals, and the biggest frustration tended to be the habit of a feeding bison to keep it's nose pretty firmly nailed to the floor - not unlike badgers; you just have to wait until you can grab a snatched shot.

When we were in the interior the temperatures had picked up a bit again, but we did get one session with some bison in a thermal area, the mist condensing and freezing providing that sugar coating again.  The downside was the relative lack of snow on the warm ground ……..

but by lying down (and a small amount of cloning) I got what I actually think is my favourite frosty bison shot to date.  Most of the time I like the views that emphasise the power of these animals, but this view is a much more peaceful perspective with a bit more of a story.

YELLOWSTONE 2019 part 1

The snow fell harder and the old bison looked worn out.  His huge head contrasted with a body that had lost the bulk it must have once had;  still an impressive beast, but past his prime.

As the wind whipped up he slowly sank to his knees, and then lay down,  head tucked into the snow.

The snow squall intensified, blurring the scene, but I could see that even the occasional movements of his head had stopped altogether  ………….

and when the skies cleared there were no signs of life at all. 

Fearing the worst I asked Stan Tekiela*, one of our guides on the trip, if the bull was dying or maybe even gone.

Smiling he replied "No. he's been doing that all week". 

My first Whitewalker of the year. 

* Stan is a biologist. prolific author and an excellent guide given his extensive knowledge of American wildlife.  He literally wrote the book!

Yellowstone - glancing back, looking forward

I'm not great at picking pictures to post, tending to post too many rather than choosing a few good ones.  Maybe difficulty sorting the chaff from the chaff?!

Anyway I quite liked the concept of the little video I made for the last blog so I decided to have another go using the pics and some video from last years Yellowstone trip - a bit of nostalgia and increasing my anticipation of another trip back in a few weeks.  I eventually found that the best way to present the video was to load it to Vimeo first, allowing decent quality playback.

Yellowstone 2018 from Brian Williams on Vimeo.

Yellowstone 4 - the cool ones

It's a bit cooler today, but I feel in need of a bit of visual chilling, so time for another Yellowstone post.  In terms of the photo opportunities there's no doubt the stars of the trip were the coyotes, which were seen everywhere, usually in pairs, although it was the Lamar Valley area that provided the best experiences with some very confiding animals.  The 100-400 lens gave some extra freedom to go in tight or come out.  Even so it was hard to believe at times just how tolerant they could be as you slowly inched nearer.

I never imagined being able to take a full frame shot like this,

although for some reason this view really appeals.  Maybe it's because it is just completely ignoring the row of photographers pointing glass at it.