It is such a joy that so many birds are in Yellowstone by May’s end. Oh the songbirds, the ducks, the swans, the grebes, and more. So come along on our bird adventure. Wow, look, a Mountain Bluebird in full mating colors!
Well, he was not much in the mood for posing. No matter where he flew his back was toward the camera. However, he was keeping his eye on me. There are always Mountain Bluebirds in the Mammoth area, but often they are not too close, so what a treat. These birds are cavity nesters but take easily to human-made nest boxes. Good grief, she isn’t making this easy either.
Mountain Bluebirds return to the Park in March, not exactly spring in Yellowstone. How do these insect eaters survive until warmer weather prevails? They do feed on berries from junipers in with flocks of Western Bluebirds, Robins, and Cedar Waxwings. However, they can find plenty of insects in the bison dung which is everywhere. Yum-oh!
Walking around the Upper Terraces at Mammoth, Killdeer are a usual sight looking for insects in the thermal runoff. First time I’ve seen one taking a bath! The thermal water at Mammoth is very different from that found in most other Park locations. These travertine terraces and pools (hot-spring limestone) contain waters that are a combination of rain and snow being heated by hot rocks and boiling water underground. These are calcium-carbonate waters, very different from the waters in the active thermal areas within the caldera. Enjoy this type of information? See what the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has to say about the Mammoth area.
Also have never seen warblers wandering in the thermal shallows! Must be good insect hunting today for the Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Ah, done with the bath, back to bug hunting.
Clark’s Nutcracker is seen often in the Park. They live on both fresh and stored pine seeds. Their food-collecting story is fascinating, but check that out here under Food. OK, he/she (coloring is identical for male and female) isn’t posing for a picture either, but you can’t miss the dagger-like bill used to get those seeds out of the pine cones.
WOW! I opened the passenger door to grab my camera for a landscape shot and this fella/gal landed on the hood of my SUV staring at me between the open door and the windshield. Maybe 12″ from my face! Certainly too many people have been feeding this raven! Ever hopeful for a handout, stayed with me until I finally drove away. Ravens are very smart–and very large. Fascinating results of their intelligence revealed here.
Driving along the Firehole River we were lucky enough to see a Trumpeter Swan on our side of the river. This is a juvenile and will likely turn completely white by the end of summer. It is sure keeping an eye on me.
Trumpeter Swans are our largest native waterfowl. They can reach 6 foot long weighing more than 25 pounds. They were once endangered but are making a comeback across their range.
Along the banks of the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley there are all kinds of ducks, some migrating, some staying. I really enjoy seeing the Eared Grebes. Although they nest on lakes and wetlands among cattail, sedges, or rushes; they gather in massive groups in saline waters (Salton Sea, Great Salt Lake, and Mono Lake) in fall and spend the winters in salt ponds, saline lakes, and in shallow waters along ocean coastlines.
Their eyes really do look like red buttons. Eared Grebes are excellent swimmers and divers, feeding on brine shrimp and flies, small fish, mollusk, or amphibians. However, to be such great swimmers their feet are toward the back of their body which makes walking on land a real challenge.
All grebes have elaborate courtship dances which can include “running” across the water in pairs. I have yet to see such a display but am ever hopeful.
Of course we must visit LeHardy Rapids to see the Harlequin Ducks. They breed very few places in the US, but can winter along the west coast of Washington and Oregon and the east coast from Maine to New Jersey. I visited them every Mother’s Day during my years living in Montana, so take a look. They are small diving ducks that feed in very rough conditions such as these rapids.
The female is plain brown, as with all female ducks. They may have a unique marking, such as the white head dot (as the male has), but all female ducks are mainly brown and there is a good reason. The females build the nest, lay the eggs, raise the young, lead the young to winter habitat if needed. In order to be successful in raising the young, they must blend into the landscape. The males are typically brightly colored and would be an obvious target for predators. It is tough work being a female duck.
The male Harleqins will only be here through June then head to their molting grounds along the coast. The females will return to the coast with their young typically in September. Unusual in ducks, the Harlequin pairs are monogamous and long term, maintaining their pair bonds through the winter and year after year.
Until next time my friend, look for those special sightings near you!
