Spring in Yellowstone Report: April 23-29, 2023
The spring season has started in Yellowstone, with the west entrance opening this past weekend. A sure sign of spring is the arrival of mountain bluebirds to the ecosystem.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/640th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)One of our first interesting encounters was with half a dozen or more sandhill cranes. I was able to frame these four with a resting bison near Blacktail Ponds.
ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)I’m not a big bird photographer but couldn’t resist the first American avocet I’ve seen here, on the Firehole River.
ISO 100 - f/5.6 - 1/125th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)Baby bison were starting to show up all around the park, and we found this single baby in a herd moving north towards lower elevations one snowy morning. Our winter lasted well into April this year, with the snowpack just now staring to really recede.
ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)These little guys have to be up and walking with the herd very quickly.
ISO 400 - f/2.8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II)Foxes were hard to come by all winter this year, so it was a surprise to find this one hunting and pouncing right by the road. The snowpack is still deep in places, so he was buried nearly to the tail when he nose dived after a rodent.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)Activity at the black bear den we’ve been watching finally picked up, and revealed two cubs inside! They occasionally came out to play, and eventually the entire family fully left the den by Friday afternoon.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/500th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)Another pleasant surprise was finding this otter. They were also hard to come by this winter, even though unfrozen areas of the river were pretty concentrated.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)There was a submerged carcass in the same area of the otter, and we got to see several eagles come and go to land and feed. The water eventually rose enough to cover the carcass or sweep it away.
ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)Later in the week, we got to be the first ones to spot this black bear. He started off grazing but treated us to a back scratching on the tree. This is often their way of scent marking, communicating with other bears in the area.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/640th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)This bull elk in Mammoth Hot Springs still held onto his antlers late into April. Most others already lost theirs. A magpie helped this one get rid of any pests.
ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)On the last day of this week’s trip, we were pleased to be serenaded by howling wolves and a short but reasonably close photo op.
ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)A lot of our black bear sightings happen in the early afternoon. If there aren’t any clouds, we often get high contrast scenes like this one. It’s not nearly as tough to expose correctly if they’re out of the snow.
ISO 500 - f/5.6 - 1/500th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)The next day after the workshop, we took a short family trip into the park hoping to see a bear was that spotted Saturday morning. We sat around after lunch until around 4PM when he finally came out of the trees to take a dip in the lake. It was 65°, pretty warm for a thick-coated grizzly bear.
While waiting down the road, I captured this bluebird that has been in the area all week.
ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)After his swim, grizzly 769 made his way down the valley towards more snow. This is the same grizzly we saw in the northern range at Blacktail Ponds in early April.
ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)We were treated to an extended session to photograph him throughout the afternoon. The light was a little harsh at time, but not too bad at all.
ISO 640 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & 400mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x extender)Interested in joining me for a photography workshop in Yellowstone? Check out www.workshops.trentsizemore.com for more info, including dates and pricing! Dates are now available through spring 2024.