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Watching Wolves
It was clear to me in an instant why nearly 100,000 people say they come to Yellowstone each year just to see wolves. ~Frank Clifford, in Howling Success I have been going to Yellowstone since the early 1980’s, a decade before wolves were reintroduced. In my early trips, it often seemed like I had the Read more
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Songbird? Not so Much
…when I first heard them, I thought something was dying or being hurt. Then I realized it was just one of these birds “singing”. ~anonymous Every time I visit Yellowstone in summer, I see and hear the beautiful male Yellow-headed Blackbirds as they establish and defend territories in marshy ponds. They can be regularly observed Read more
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What Grizzlies Eat
…almost everything is food except granite… ~John Muir on what grizzlies eat Muir was probably not far off in that observation. Grizzlies (and Black Bears as well) have a tremendously varied diet according to the season and food availability. Grizzlies are omnivores, feeding on a wide range of both plants and animals. Grizzlies tend to Read more
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Year of the Grizzly
Bears keep me humble. They help me to keep the world in perspective and to understand where I fit on the spectrum of life. We need to preserve the wilderness and its monarchs for ourselves, and for the dreams of children. We should fight for these things as if our lives depended on it, because Read more
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Back in Paradise
I am back in Yellowstone leading a group, so posts will be limited for a few days. Great to be here so early, the brief season between winter and summer…absolutely beautiful. Look for more when I return. Read more
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Not Just a Garden for Elk
Each May for the past several years, I have made a pilgrimage to my parent’s home in Damascus, Virginia. It is my Dad’s birthday and, of course, Mother’s Day, so a perfect time to visit. It is also a perfect time to visit for the spectacle of spring in the mountains. We almost always manage Read more
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Garden Birds – Blue Grosbeak
Its pleasing song and engaging appearance have made the [blue} grosbeak a favorite cage-bird among the southern [people], who know it as the “blue pop”. ~ In Biological Survey Bulletin, 1907 Though many wild birds were often kept as cage-birds decades ago (and still are in some areas of the world), I am glad the Read more
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Garden Birds – Summer Tanager
The summer red bird arrives sometimes in the latter part of April, and all through the summer his scarlet form enlivens and presents a beautiful contrast to the green foliage. ~J.W.P. Smithwick, The Birds of Bertie County, NC, In The Wisconsin Naturalist (a monthly magazine), 1890 The tanagers are back! I wonder if Northern Cardinals Read more
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Garden Birds – Brown Thrasher
Perhaps, if we had more neglected brush heaps and tangles of unkempt shrubbery and vines about our grounds, we might tempt the thrasher to be more sociable and nest near our homes. ~Dr. W.G. Erwin in Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds I see Brown Thrashers all year in North Carolina, but, in winter, Read more
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Garden Birds – Common Yellowthroat
When invading its haunts one is impressed with the vigorous personality of the male. He nervously raises his alarm with a variety of scolding, interrogative chirps and chattering notes and his dark inquisitive eyes sparkle with excitement through the black masks. He darts with nervous animation from place to place, then disappears in the dense Read more
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Roads End Naturalist 