5/2/2015
It is 6:45 .m. and so far it has been a wolfless day for myself and many others, including Rick. But, some visitors did see 821 at the ponds this morning on the Blacktail. And a ray without a collar was seen in the same general area during early afternoon. Those are the only two sightings that I know of, from Lamar to Lake.
I began the day, just after sunrise, driving from Gardiner to Lamar, only to find that while there is a lot going on, nothing is being see. Signals here are there.
At least some of the Prospects did make it to the den area yesterday afternoon – 964 and 965 for sure but since the others do not have collars it is difficult to know. As I said earlier, 926 has been around at least 3 of the 6 Prospects who have come to visit and so all should be fine. The other three are Thin Black and two yearlings. Rick says he feels certain that they would pose no threat to the pups.
But, 926 seems to be spending quite a lot of time outside of the den, though in the den area, which feels a little disconcerting. They are now 5 days old and so can be left a little longer each day. One would have to assume that if there were no pups she would be out looking for the guys and some food.
Apparently, Twin and Mottled went on a hunting excursion yesterday. And, Rick had good signals on 965 at the den area last night. And then this morning 965’s signals seemed to be out Cache Creek, most likely looking to join the hunt. Which was funny because, meanwhile, back at the den, 926 is surrounded by elk. I watched until the elk settled down before moving on.
There was a large, beautiful grizzly in the triangle meadow east of the cone this morning. And, Scarface gave a number of people a thrill as he traveled across the ridge towards Slough Creek and on through Little America, right past a courting pair of grizzlies at Crystal. I left while Scarface was still traveling, sensing a big jam coming up but perhaps he decided to take a different route, other than the road Yellowstone Bridge and the road.
Before leaving Lamar I stopped to watch the beautiful wood duck in a small pond near Midpoint, along with a variety of other waterfowl.
Spring in Yellowstone makes me think of the song, “Alive with the sound of music…” Because magical tunes play everywhere one goes, except maybe driving on the road. Yeah, the roads are kind of dangerous at the moment but that won’t change for several months.
The construction zone is open, without traffic control on the weekends and that makes travel to the south a little easier. The road is still nasty but no long waits and less dust. I saw nothing along the way, besides pronghorn, bison and elk. Seems that I did see a coyote near North Butte and so that is my only canid for the day.
Got over to Hayden and kept hearing reports of nothing. There was a bear way up high at Lake Butte Overlook and it did eventually come down the hill and walk right through the crowd to the lake but that was it for the day’s excitement. I continued on and immediately found a sow, the little Hayden Valley girl, now 5, traveling along beside the road.
I stopped to take some photos – at last, I could get the camera out! She quickly went by and then angled towards the road, readying to cross behind me but as I watched someone raced up to get closer to her for a pic. And she veered back. This poor bear spends half of her days trying to get around people so she get get where she is going. I did call the ranger but by the time they arrived she was not trying to cross any longer. And, by calling it only served to let everyone know that she was there and so it turned into a gigantic bear jam. I got a few more shots and then left, heading towards Lake.
The Eared Grebes were still at Fishing Bridge but other than a few bison and more waterfowl on the lake there wasn’t much to see. Ice out will come early this year as the ice is already broken up.
On the way back through I stopped and walked along the Yellowstone River, encountering 6 old bison carcasses along the way. Six! There are more carcasses from this year, still in the water and I am surprised that they haven’t risen to the surface and been discovered by the bears. Apparently the bison go out on the ice at Yellowstone Lake and fall through and drown. And then they float down river until they become lodged on rocks and deadfall. In the spring the bears get to do mop up. I am wondering if ice out happens before the bears find the carcasses if they will move further downstream. Seems like at least one did last year and ended in a place that wasn’t very convenient for rangers.
The first elk arrived in Canyon late this afternoon! Big news day on that one.
My second little jaunt, carrying only bear spray and binoculars for the day over and it felt good to just get out of the car and start walking. The first time was straight uphill.
The little Hayden Valley girl was still at the side of the road and numerous people still photographing her on my way back by. I slipped in and took a few more shots before going on my way. I heard on the scanner, when I reached Lamar, that it was still going on.
Apparently, the friends were stuck in a black bear jam near the Yellowstone picnic area for 30 minutes this afternoon. The sow was on one side of the road and the cubs up a tree on the other. That makes 3 or 4 sets of new black bear cubs for this year. Going to be another one of those jam times.
Well, waiting to see some action around the Lamar den area. It is now 7:25 and all is still quiet.
Never did see the wolves, despite staying until after 8 p.m. I did, however, drive down valley for a few minutes and photographed the bison in the landscape.
Looks like it is a full moon tonight. This one was from last night.
See you tomorrow.
Deby
