Yellowstone Trip #2 – Blue Skies & More Wildlife
While my first trip in to Yellowstone may have been a white one, this trip was certainly a blue one! There may still have been white snow on the ground but the skies were a beautiful blue!
Before I even got inside the park I was greeted by half a dozen Pronghorns and a couple of Elk. Once inside the park though I found Mammoth, Wyoming to be overrun by Bison! I wouldn't be surprised if due to the low winter population there were more Bison than Humans in the town. There must have been at least 30-40 Bison who had made themselves at home in the empty town.
After passing through Mammoth I headed down into the valley to Blacktail Pond where all the action had been before. Just like last time this location did not fail to deliver. The carcass the Grizzly Bear had found last week had been taken apart with leg bones and other miscellaneous pieces spread across the snow in the valley. One of the Coyotes I had seen the week before had laid claim to a juicy leg bone. The Raven's were out in full force though harassing the Coyote and trying to steal a peck or two. Once the Coyote had grown tired of the Ravens it wandered off to lay down in the snow. The Raven's prize was short lived though as after the Coyote walked away an Eagle who had been sitting by a nearby pond decided to swoop in and claim the leg bone. The Eagle snapped and flapped its wings at the insistent Ravens before hopping away a little dragging the bone in it's talons. Our Eagle friend quickly grew tired of the Ravens also and glided off to sit beside another pond. Finally the Ravens had their prize to their selves and descended on it.
Once the excitement around the bone died out I decided to go and check out the rest of the park. Not even two minutes from the pullout for Blacktail Pond and I already found more Bison. While pulled off on the side of the road taking Bison photos I did notice though a little grosbeak on the side of the road who I snapped a few photos of.
From here I headed into Lamar Valley driving past the Bison or waiting patiently for them to let me past. Lamar Valley still did not have much wildlife beside the occasional Bison herd near the side of the road. What Lamar Valley did have though was beautiful fields and hills of white covered in untouched snow. One of these perfectly white hills of snow had a perfectly placed Bison in front of it on the side of the road. With my telephoto lens I was able to capture a stunning side profile headshot of the Bison. Some of these hills and valleys exposed by the clear day I didn't even know had been there last time due to the heavy snowfall. With the difference in weather this trip felt like a whole new Yellowstone for me. In fact one tree in particular I photographed again which really shows the difference in the two trips. Winter Wonderland | Clear Skies
Once I had determined that Lamar Valley had nothing more to offer than beautiful snowscapes and the occasional Buffalo or nine I turned around to head back towards Tower. Just past the Roosevelt Lodge pull out near Tower I came across a photographer on the side of the road and another car pulled off to the side. National Park Photography 101, if you see a long lens pointed in a direction do the same with yours! With no traffic behind me I came to stop and quickly pointed my lens out the window. After a moment of searching I spotted what I consider to be my rarest encounter and one of my favorite. Halfway up the hillside standing in contrast against the white snow was a majestic Red Fox! I snapped a few pictures before it started to walk off up the hill. I swung around to grab a proper parking place and came back with my Tripod hoping to get a few more photos but the Fox was no where to be found.
Heading back in towards Mammoth I hit a wall of cars just before Blacktail Pond. Having driven the entire length of the park I did not even know there were this many cars in the park! Every single person must have been here and I instantly knew why! As I snaked my way up the road slipping around stopped and parked cars I got to the pull out which was unsurprisingly overflowing. Pulling forward a little more I spotted the trouble just as I suspected, our Grizzly friend was back. A car in front of me pulled out to go around a stopped car and I slipped in and put myself in park. I figured as long as the car in front of me wasn't moving I couldn't get yelled at for blocking traffic! Rolling down the passenger window I was able to get some shots and footage of the Grizzly Bear as he pulled a new carcass from a smaller pond. This new pond was much closer and I actually had to zoom out to fit the bear in frame. After snapping off too many pictures and nearly 10 minutes of footage I set the camera down and pulled out. I needed to find a spot I could park and get set up with my tripod. I decided to try a few loops passing by the Blacktail pullout before settling in to walking. Luckily on my second pass by someone was kind enough to pull out and I was able to get a legal parking space.
With my tripod setup I was able to get much steadier footage of the Grizzly eating on the carcass. It was absolutely disgusting and amazing all at the same time. He had ripped the carcass open and it was just pooled with blood. His snout drenched red from it all. The pair of Coyotes that hung out in that valley stood a distance away watching and smelling. But even after the Bear had left the Coyotes never did go up to the carcass getting spooked by the bears scent whenever they got too close. After the bear had his full he meander to the edge of Blacktail Pond and flopped down to digest. Being a bear must be rough... I ended the day with a beautiful sunset over the mountains and a few Pronghorns outside of the park gates.
Just like the weather my photography and videography experience a completely different experience. During last week's trip I was battling falling snow and low light conditions. This week I found myself combating bright snow reflection and shadows. During processing I ended up having to warm up most photos to remove the blue hue in the snow to get white snow. I also learned, well experienced since I already knew, that a great photoshoot is horrible once it comes time to choose the "keepers". Getting to see and capture the Grizzly up so close on a carcass was a phenomenal experience. Choosing which photos to keep from it less phenomenal... On the video side of the house I had a much better experience. Using a faster SD card was much better and I had no unexpected recording stops this time. Even in the calmer weather I realized that long lens shake is a real problem. I still have not worked out the best solution and will probably be looking at a new tripod first. If you have any advice to combat full telephoto shaking I would love to hear your tips!
Overall this trip was a much better experience and I was absolutely spoiled by the parks wildlife. I couldn't have asked for much better if I had tried! That said though stop by next week to see if I manage to top Week 2 with Week 3!