Field Notes

Bison of Jackson Hole

kjohnson — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:14:00 -0800

A Family of Bison Graze in Teton National Park

Jackson, Wyoming 2011

Hungry Browser

kjohnson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:11:00 -0800

Moose munches on berries off the Moose Wilson Road.

The busiest mammal!

kjohnson — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:07:00 -0800

Grizzly Bear #610

kjohnson — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:56:00 -0800

Landscape Photography in the Tetons

kjohnson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:12:00 -0800

Jackson Hole is famous across the planet as one of the best locations for wildlife and landscape photography. Our naturalist programs make the most of this by offering photo safaris twice per week throughout the year. This week we explored Grand Teton National Park with cameras, tripods and lenses to find historic barns, abundant wildlife and expansive mountain views. Taking advantage of our Spring wildflowers, we took a 20 minute walk to find this meadow of daisys with the majestic Teton range providing the perfect photographic backdrop (seen in the image above.)

Newborn Mammals

kjohnson — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:08:00 -0800

One of the packages that we are currently promoting here at Spring Creek Ranch focuses on the fact that June and July is a wonderful time of year to see wild newborn animals. Appropriately, our safaris have had excellent sightings of these particularly cute critters during the past couple of weeks. Each of the images below were taken on recent wildlife safaris and include (from left to right) a grizzly bear cub up a tree, a bison calf, elk calf, coyote pups playing and a moose calf (with a very protective mom nearby.)

June Wildlife

kjohnson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:50:00 -0800

Early Summer has proved once again to be an excellent time of year for wildlife sightings. Bears are always a wonderful surprise to see on any excursion and we have been very lucky to see many black and grizzly bears in recent weeks. Newborn bison can be found throughout Grand Teton and Yellowstone and we are starting to see our first newborn moose and elk as well. Bull moose and elk are quickly growing their antlers and will be seen as soft and velvety for the next three months or so while they develop. Other sightings from recent trips include a gray wolf, beavers, coyotes, bighorn sheep, eagles, cranes, bison and this curious porcupine. We are also seeing an explosion of Summer wildflowers in the parks such as balsamroot, spring beauty, yellowbells and yellow violets.

Wolf & Bear Safari

kjohnson — Tue, 24 May 2011 10:09:00 -0800

Last week's wolf and bear safari was an extremely successful weekend of wildlife watching throughout Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We were able to find many grizzly bears, black bears and a solitary gray wolf. Although these predators were the focus of this excursion, we also had great sightings of bighorn sheep, moose, river otters and many other birds and mammals.

Yellowstone Opens

kjohnson — Sat, 14 May 2011 13:19:00 -0800

Friday was our first Yellowstone excursion of the year as the South Gate opened for business. It was an extraordinary day with great geyser and wildlife sightings.

We were lucky enough to watch eruptions of Old Faithful, Beehive and Grand geysers; all beautiful and unique in their own way. One of the highlights of the day was watching a sow and cub grizzly bear digging for unknown food resources in Hayden Valley. The image to the right shows the picturesque Upper Geyser Basin with Beehive erupting in the background.

An American Raptor

kjohnson — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:00:00 -0800

I am always thinking about the relationships between humans and wildlife, and ended up thinking about patriotism as a result of seeing these American kestrels on today's safari. Most of us would associate the bald eagle with the U.S.A. since it is our national symbol and they do look really cool and majestic. Nonetheless, the American kestrel is not only the only bird-of-prey with the word 'America' in it but also actually displays all of our red, white and blue colors. These little falcons are quite small and easily mistaken for a robin or other medium-sized bird, but are as deadly as any other raptor. The male (on the left) is a bit more colorful but the female also has charismatic markings.