The wolves of Yellowstone

Long have I raised my spectacles, ensnaring wild beasts and birds in my view. But nothing prepared my for the epic display I was to witness. Many a daft tourist there are at Yellowstone. They think nature is a David Attenborough special, expecting to witness a large apex carnivore around every bend.

At Yellowstone’s Lamar valley, however, this actually is the case! Through the two days following a midnight slaughter of an Elk by some wolves, a total of about 5 magpies, 20 ravens, 3 bald eagles, 3 golden eagles, 2 coyotes, 7 timber wolves and 2 grizzly bears fed on or attempted to feed on this elk. It was quite a cluster!@#$. Poor Elk. I watched a wolf tear out its entire liver. These photos and videos are but a taste of the action, which was well-spectated!






And check out these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHNfOLv9x-M&feature=feedu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z3a_Ovxhdc&feature=related

54 km for one bird

THE TETONS.

Massive crests of rock that writhe in furious storms, hurl avalanches, and loom over the park with their menace. Perched on the very teeth of these spires, dwell tiny black sorcerers that call this their realm. They are the black rosy-finches.




My quest began a the bottom, and would take me over and around the mountains, a 54 km, 3 day march. It took me up winding steps up a cliff of dark rock, that rose higher and higher into the sky. Just as I was about to reach the pass of Cirith Ungol...BEHOLD! Two black rosy-finches, sitting, observing me from their crag.

The wolves of Teton

Through much inquiry and carefull navigation of dirt roads, I found this hill where you can view a wolf den from. You hike up this huge hill at dawn and look a kilometer into this valley and there they are!


The photo doesn't do much but there's a cool video with some priceless comentary. While up there I had some splendid company, a few locals/visitors who were equally impressed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2DYRb-r1jY

Here is one happy camper.

Ferret Night

The ferret slinks its way in and out of the prairie dog burrows freely, leaving a trail of blood and members in its path. Each night is its blood feast. It ignores a spotlight, so intent is it on its slaughter. The night of a prairie dog is one filled with nightmares, in sleep and wakefullness. A truly pitiful existence.

The time of the ferret night had come.

It was 21:30. Carfulls of idiots with their SUV's gathered for this chance at seeing a rare critter. The photographers grouped among themselves, talking with unrestrained zeal about their various camera setups. They talked so loud, you could learn about all their different preffered settings from 200 meters away. They discussed how to best control light, expoposure, apperture speed...if only they could control the volume of their own voice. And there were those "tourist photographers", the kind of wealthy Americans who would walk into a camera store and say: "I want the best camera you have." The still of night was broken by the loud beep of an automated car-lock.

But there was some mighty good company among us: my new friend Dane and some Bee researchers whom I later had the pleasure of accompanying in the field.

The ferret researchers finally arrived, appologizing for their lateness. "But we're actually early for the ferrets" they said. Ferrets only lurk in the dead of night.

"Is anyone going to bring a gun?" asked one concerned young lady. "What's going to attack you, a prairie dog?" replied our guide, to her embarassement.

Luckily, by 1:00 am, the touristly folk turned in since it was past their bedtime. The researcher offered to take us into one more pasture for a last try. Only myself and another dude remained. What happened next, I did not expect. As soon as all the people left, the researchers let us climb in their USGS truck, and we rampaged over the prairie dog town with a super spotlight!

We found the ferret, and the researchers even encouraged us to get closer and closer, until we cornered it in a burrow. I was in disbelief that this was happening, but this photo tells it all.


And here's it running around. Sorry for the photographer who walked in front of me while I I was recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI5M_D-JXP0

I was so stoked after this that I had to go on a night drive, and I almost hit this badger with my car!!

The badlands and the black hills

Pictures describe better than words the awesomeness of the badlands:







While there, I had been eagerly awaiting the first ever Ferret Festival, where they would be leading pre-registered guests out into a prairie dog town to attempt at spotlighting a wild ferret. But it was not for another 6 days. Could I wait that long, and would I get bored of the badlands? Luckily, I met this fellow Dane, and we ended up taking his car into the black hills for 2 days. We hiked up the highest peak, 7200 ft Harney Peak. It was host to some unique birds, among which we found this Three-toed Woodpecker which I couldn't stop talking about for hours, making Dane probably think I was some kind of bird freak (he could not have been more correct).


Optimus Prime nodded in stern approval.


At the summit, we watched in amazement as two peregrines played with a prairie falcon. Here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IOpakO5OHg

Then we went into a cave. Cousin Balin did not give us a royal welcome, but we did find a huge slice of "cave bacon."


It was almost time for ferret night.

Prairie Chicken Hunt

If anyone is traveling through South Dakota, they must stop at the Pierre National Grassland. What's there? This:


But there's more than meets the eye...


That was a Sharp-tailed Grouse, but my real quarry was the aptly named Greater Prairie Chicken. I only got a brief view of two as they flushed from the grass, flying at least a kilometer! They were shy for good reason: it was hunting season. I figured I better move on before I become hunted.

As I discoved more and more the awesomemess of the prairies, the howling winds were insane (the weather said there were 75km/h gusts - I'm not lying!). Amid the flurry of wind, my camera actually popped open and the battery pack was forever lost in the prairie grasses. Then I found 6 baby rattlesnakes.

What did I do? I drove the the nearby town of Pierre and called dad. He checked out buisnesses in the area. You're not gonna find a Panasonic FZ-35 battery pack in the middle of South Dakota. Well, it turns out, in Rapid City, about 1 hour off my journey's track, there's actually a store that sells just batteries! I bought 2.