Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Other Yellowstone Animals

This western bluebird is a little different than our eastern ones that nest around here.


Ravens are very large and numerous and this one was hunkering down during a brief snow/sleet shower in the Old Faithful parking lot. I watched three on a pick-up truck. One snuck down and picked up a baseball out of the bed, but soon returned it with a loud, metal "thump!" 


These are common goldeneye ducks. I read that when they are hatched, their eyes are grey-brown, turning to purple, then blue, then green and finally at half a year, the males have bright yellow eyes and the females have pale yellow or even white eyes. Pretty cool, huh?


These uncommonly pretty guys with the orange feet, legs and beaks are common mergansers.


The sandhill cranes out West are quite brown. 


Prairie chickens are not found in Florida, so we consider them quite a sight.


We spotted this small elk herd in a meadow known for wolves, only by using binoculars. We did not see any wolves. 


This bull elk was grazing in the rain right by the road. He was huge!




This elk cow and calf were also pretty close. (They did have heads!) Stopping traffic to take pictures is frowned upon. 





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