Quest for the Great Gray Owl

Yellowstone 2016 continued:

After our visit with the Ruffed Grouse, we continued on to Canyon Village, where the folks at the Madison campground had said there were Great Grays seen earlier in the year. We stopped for gas and I could not resist some close-ups of a stately Common Raven hanging out by the pumps.

"Hey, I'm special too!"

We talked to some employees at the visitor center, but didn't get any clarification about the owl. One ranger directed us to a nearby horse stable, saying he'd heard they'd been seen in the pasture. So we did some driving around, but instead of owls we came across a bear jam. A large grizzly was digging up turf in a field about 100 yards from the road. He was a bit too far for my lens, but I couldn't resist some shots.

Grizzly filling up on grubs before winter.

Starting to feel a little frustrated about our owl search, we went back to Canyon Village and asked someone else about the Great Gray. This time we hit pay dirt--her friend had seen the owls around the Bay Bridge Marina only a few days before. We wasted no time in heading down.

As we neared the area, Lisa and Lori scoured the sides of the road as I drove. We weren't sure about the exact location, but when we approached the marina, Lisa spotted a group of people with cameras and scopes pointed up into the trees lining the road. I turned around as soon as I could, and on the way back Lisa saw the owl.

I had to contain myself and not burn rubber into the parking lot. My first view of the magnificent Great Gray Owl was of her perched on a dead-fall, looking mildly irritated, as they usually do.

OMG OMG OMG!

She was hunting in the area along the channel that leads from Yellowstone Lake into the marina, where a little footbridge crosses a creek. Shortly after I joined the throng, she took off towards the bridge.

She sat, listening intently to the scurrying sounds of critters in the tall grass.

She dove into the grass, but she missed her prey and I missed getting a descent shot. But as she came up off the ground she landed in a tree so close to me I couldn't get her whole body in the frame.

I eventually moved around the tree and stood on the shore to get a better angle, and to get a little farther away. I was concerned that we were scaring her prey, as she seemed not the slightest bit bothered by us. I imagine she'd seen a lot of people in her time.

Oh such a disapproving stare these owls have!

She eventually took off, heading across the entrance road and disappearing into the woods. The throng left with her, and we found ourselves alone by the lake.

We decided to stay there and have a picnic lunch as the sky began to clear and the sun shone. We watched some ducks on the lake, then, while packing up our food, Lisa spotted the owl, or perhaps a second one, fly directly behind me and land in a tree over my head. By the time I got my camera, it had flown over to the little footbridge.

This time, however, there was no one else there, just us and the owl. It was oh so special. The sun shone and lit up those bright yellow eyes.

He's got a bit of blood on his beak, so I'm thinking this is a different owl.

I was struck, from this angle, how incredibly well camouflaged this bird is. If not for the shadows, he would blend right in.

I should not have worried about being a bother to this bird. As we stood and watched, he began to preen.

Owl foots!

He turned around on his perch to face the sun and the wind, and continued to preen.

We moved around to face him, and watched as he cleaned his toes and feathers, did some stretches and rearranged his feathers.

It is such a privilege just to be able to see a bird this close, but to have the opportunity to watch it do it's thing is even more amazing.

After his bath he took to the air. I'm not sure, but I think I may have wept.

On our way out of the marina, we were treated to one more look at him. He had perched in a tree along the entrance, and as we watched he swooped down to the ground after some critter. I believe he came up empty taloned, but from the blood on his beak I think he didn't miss often.

Buffalo Bill State Park and Grizzlies in Wyoming

The moon was still flying high when we left Badlands National Park. We made a quick stop at the gift shop for some souvenirs and ice, then drove north to I-90. The refrigerator in the camper had quit working, so we were cooling our food the old fashioned way. The RV dump station at the park was busy but we remembered seeing dump stations at previous rest areas, and sure enough, the next one down I-90 had one too. That's a really nice feature some states' rest areas have, (hint hint, Michigan!), and I'd like to see more of them.

The moon riding high above the Badlands Sunday morning. (iPhone panoramic)

Our goal for the day was to cross Wyoming, ending up at Buffalo Bill State Park, about a half hour from the Yellowstone border. We would then get up early the next morning and drive into YNP, and secure a campsite somewhere. We were aware that all of the campgrounds that were still open (I think two had closed for the season, and the Slough Creek was closed because of the Buffalo Creek fire) were filling by around 11 am, and so we needed to get in as soon as possible.

People talk about the Plains and Upper Midwest to be flat, barren wastelands. I had not found that to be the case in my travels through the Dakotas, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma. Of course, we had been in the eastern half of those states. All that changes when you hit the arid steppes of Wyoming. The rolling terrain gradually gains elevation, and the sagebrush steppes are virtually empty save for pronghorn and oil wells. Of course, that's all you see at 70-80 mph down the highway--there are lots of animals that call this place home, but for a Michigander who has spent her life surrounded by trees, this was a truly alien landscape.

The treeless sagebrush steppes of central Wyoming, with the Bighorn Mountains in the distance.

We had several options for getting to Yellowstone's border. One was to take I-90 up to Billings, then come down the Bear Tooth Highway and into the park at the Northeast Entrance. But that seemed really out of the way, and the Bear Tooth Pass freaked me out--I'd never pulled a camper through the mountains, and wasn't sure I was ready to tackle that. It had already been closed twice this year because of snow. The other options then were to go through the Bighorn Mountains, either on US 14 to the north, or US 16 to the south. In Buffalo we saw signs saying it was an easier drive to take US 16, and we decided to trust them and go that route. It was a beautiful drive, and we got our first taste of the golden hues of aspen and willow as they began to change into their autumn colors. The van did pretty well chugging up the mountains, but I couldn't look around much. When I came to an empty pull-out on the downside I stopped to stretch and take a few photos.

Bighorn Mountains along US 16

From the Bighorns it's another 1.5 hours or so to Cody. We didn't have time to linger there, though it looked like a really neat town. We needed to get to Buffalo Bill and get a campsite before dark, which we only JUST managed to do. There was weather in the area, rain to the south and snow to the north over the Absarokas, but it didn't rain on us until well after dark. While we didn't have time to explore the park, we did make it in time to stroll along the banks of the reservoir, and watch the sun set.

Snow in the distance did not reach us here at Buffalo Bill State Park

Wild sunflowers on the beach

Looking east along the Buffalo Bill Reservoir

We were up before sunrise and ready to go as the sun painted the hills gold and red. But before we could reach the park entrance, we had our second wildlife close encounter.

Sunrise on the buttes in western Wyoming

As we made our way east towards the East Entrance of Yellowstone, we came across a few cars pulled over on the shoulder. There was room for us so I stopped too. Lisa got out to investigate, and she thought at first there was a moose in the shrubs along the road. But then she jumped back in the van, slamming the door, and said, "Oh my God, it's a bear!" So I, of course, jumped out.

Standing up against the back corner of the camper, I watched as this magnificent creature browsed its way through the shrubbery. Not even to Yellowstone and we had us a grizzly encounter!

A big griz grazing on berries along US 14 in the Shoshone National Forest, just outside YNP.

The bear wasn't interested in us in the least. I wish I had grabbed my other (better) camera with the other (better) lens, but it was buried somewhere and I didn't want to chance not getting any photos while I searched for my gear. I also didn't dare get any closer. There were other cars closer to the bear, but the folks had enough sense to shoot from their vehicles. I felt confident that if the bear started coming my way I could get back into the van quickly. But I needn't have worried--the bear was only interested in eating fruit.

Oh sweet face!

The bear eventually emerged from the shrubs to feed some more...

...then turned and headed around the far side. What I wouldn't give to have been on the other side of this image!

Thanks to the bear jam, we were a little later getting to into the park than we had planned. Once inside the park we still had an hour or two to drive before arriving at an open campground. Would we find a place to camp? Hmmm...

Requisite selfie at the entrance sign--Lisa, Lori and me.

Grizzly Cubs in Denali National Park

 Alaska 2014 continued:

Oh FINALLY.

We are finally at the end of the Alaska trip!

While this was ultimately a birding trip--and we saw well over 100 species of birds, many of which were new to me--the parts that stick with me have more to do with the amazing scenery and other animals that we saw. From the boulder-strewn tundra of the Seward Peninsula to the glaciers of Resurrection Bay to the mountains of the interior, I was blown away every day by the beauty of this amazing state. We were lucky to see musk ox on the tundra, the only place on this trip where we could have seen them, and certainly something I could never see at home. Caribou too, and Dall sheep. Then of course all the marine mammals, like sea otters, Orcas, harbor seals, and Stellar's sea lions. Those beautiful, calm, clear days on the waters around Homer and Seward. Getting to join the 30% after being lucky enough to see a cloudless Mt. Denali (whose name has been changed from Mt. McKinley since I started this blog series). Spending ten days with eight of the nicest people you could hope to be stuck in a passenger van with.

But on that last day, with our trip though Denali National Park winding down, we were treated to the ultimate sight.

As we trundled along the dirt road in the tour bus, we spotted a grizzly fairly near the road, digging in the soil for insects and roots. She glanced up as we approached.

Grizzly sow less than 50 feet from the side of the road!

As we inched forward, two small brown blobs became visible.

Could it be?? 

There, scratching in the dirt as they imitated mom, were two first-year cubs.

OMGOMGOMG

To say we were delighted would be an understatement.

They scritched and dug and rolled around on the side of the hill. One paused to take a look at the bus as we idled on the side of the road.

He eventually got up and found a stick to chew on...

...while his sibling looked on.

I could have sat there all day, watching this family. To be so close, to have such an amazing view of them as they went about their day to day lives, roaming free, not in a zoo, not behind a fence--it was magical.

We were only able to spend a few minutes with them as another bus rolled up and waited their turn to take a look. While it was such a short time, it's an experience I'll never forget.

I cannot wait to go back.

Grizzly Mom and Second-year Cubs

 Alaska 2014 continued:

While all the up close looks of caribou, moose and Dall sheep were really nice, what we all wanted to see were bears and wolves. Wolves, it turns out, are in short supply in the Denali area these days as hunting and trapping in recent years has greatly reduced their numbers, and we did not see any. But on the return trip from the Eielson Visitor Center, we hit the jackpot with bears. First we spotted a lone grizzly a couple hundred feet from the road. We stopped to watch for a few minutes, then moved on the let another busload have a look.

Farther along the road someone spotted a large sow sitting on the side of a hill, watching our approach. We stopped to have a look. She did not seem too thrilled with our gawking. (Once again I had to shoot through the windows of the bus so the image quality is compromised.)

Grizzly sow eyeing our bus in Denali National Park.

She looked around and sniffed the air.

Soon we saw why--two second-year cubs came trundling up the hill towards her! She got up and walked off to our right, and the cubs followed.

A second-year cubs moves across the hillside, following mom.

The wind had really kicked up and it blew through their thick coats.

Mom paused at this creek while the kids caught up.

The soft afternoon light was gorgeous on the bears and the hillside.

The family continued to move to our right, until they were within 75-100 feet of the bus.

The littler of the two huffed it up the hill.

This is one of only a couple shots where I was able to get both cubs in the frame.

Even in June there were still patches of rotted snow in the hollows. As the bears pushed past us we moved along too. It was one of the most special moments of the trip for me. Watching these animals in their natural habitat was amazing. But before we came across this trio, we'd had another close encounter with a grizzly family, which will wrap up the Alaska blog series--but that's for next time!