Birds at Yellowstone

Twigs crunched beneath my hiking boots as I made my way through the tall grass along the Yellowstone River.  It was early”about 6:30 a.m., and the river that wound through one of the most famous parks in the world, was still shrouded in a misty fog.  I had brought along a thick staff to part the grass so that I would make as little noise as possible.  I didn't want to disturb them.

While most people came to Yellowstone to check out the famous geysers and see the wildlife, I was here for an entirely different reason.  I came here to watch birds. 

I am a birdwatcher.  My father introduced me to it when I was a boy and now that I had retired from a successful career in stocks, I had decided to travel and write a book on my experiences in watching birds. 

Now, many may ask why Yellowstone?   It's true that the park isn't a Mecca for exotic or rare birds.  However, it is a unique place in that the birds within it are birds that do not normally reside in this part of the country.  According to the last count, there are three hundred and eighteen known species of birds that reside in Yellowstone and I was determined to find and document as many of them as I could.  I had already located a Bald Eagle, the Whooper Swan, the Mallard Duck, and even a Turkey Vulture the day before. 

This morning, I was determined to find the Trumpeter Swan.  There were only about twenty or so adult Trumpeter Swans in Yellowstone and so they were hard to find in the vast miles of parkland.  I had heard from a fellow camper that he thought he had seen some Trumpeters over in this area of the Grand Canyon so I thought I would come and check it out.  The sun wasn't up just yet and I had to watch my footing carefully.  Through the trees I spotted a large Elk feeding in shadow.  There were a couple of other elk behind him and I guessed that this was a male and his small herd of females. 

Careful not to disturb them, I continued on and glanced occasionally up at the treetops.  It was on one of these glances that I spotted a Great Horned Owl perched on a thick tree limb.  He eyed me with almost a stern golden gaze and I stopped to watch him and take some notes on his appearance and behavior before moving on.  I was just approaching the water's edge when I heard a peculiar sound”like a tapping sound on wood.  Tap-tap-tap.  Tap-tap-tap.

Withdrawing my pencil and sketchpad, I quietly made my way towards the sound.  There was a Red-bellied Woodpecker!  They lived in the Eastern United States but for some reason had chosen to live here at Yellowstone.  This one was definitely a male with his red nape and crown (the top of his head and the back of his neck are a bright red).  I was too far away to see the light blush on his stomach feathers that gave the bird his name.  Putting my binoculars to my eyes, I adjusted the lenses.  There were the pinkish feathers on his underside! 

A lone bison (buffalo) was grazing on the other side of the river when I finally reached it.  I didn't see any sign of Trumpeters but I had seen enough aviators to be convinced that this would be a great spot to stay and watch.  I pulled off my backpack and pulled out a small folded canvas stool that I used for sitting.  By now, the sun was starting to peek over the tops of the canyon walls and I knew it would only be a matter of time before the area would be bathed in light.  

Settling down with my sketchpad and pencil in hand and my binoculars at the ready around my neck, I took a sip of the hot liquid I had brought with me.  I had come well prepared for a long wait.  My knapsack was filled with granola bars, water, and trail mix so I wouldn't starve. 

I enjoyed this time of day when all was quiet and still.  Did I say still?  It wasn't exactly still with the chattering of birds in the tree branches, but it was music to me.  A friend of mine would actually record different birds singing.  He had traveled all over the world for the nature organization that he worked for.  Now there was a job!

I heard a twittering directly over my head and looked up to see a couple of tiny wrens.  They appeared to be talking to each other and I wondered what they were saying.  Were they telling each other good morning or exchanging curiosity over me sitting beneath them?  I began sketching the quick little brown birds as they proceeded to look for their breakfast. 

Humming birds whizzed by on my left and I watched as their wings beat a thousand times a minute.  Hummingbirds and wrens were fairly common in this part of the United States, and so I didn't spend a lot of time on them. 

The sun rose in all its glory and spread its rays over the park.  The hours seemed to fly by as I found many other birds such as the Belted Kingfisher, the Black-billed Cuckoo, the Dusky Flycatcher, and the Northern Mockingbird.  But alas, no sign of the white Trumpeter. 

Reluctantly, I folded my chair and packed up my things.  Just as I was about to turn to leave this place, something made me turn my head and take a last glance at the river.  What was this?