The Night Has a Comet and a Lion

Comet PANSTARRS - thanks to sky-aware friends who point out these things.

We saw the Comet PANSTARRS from the Dipper Ranch gate tonight. A herd of five deer were watching too, or perhaps, as someone suggested, the deer were looking to see who was making all that racket. Just sitting in lawn chairs at the gate in the dark with binoculars and cameras. Such a pleasant way to spend a late winter evening. Meanwhile, a mountain lion has showed up several times on a wildlife camera on a remote part of the ranch. Mostly at night.

In the Provident Shadow of Omnivores

Nighttime silhouette in the wildlife camera at the cattle pen.

I felt restless in late November as I often do around the full moon, but I was also nervous about attending a four-wheel drive class. Meanwhile, the omnivores were leaving sign at new places on the Dipper Ranch, sometimes being rascals and sometimes making fortuitous appearances.

In the middle of the night before the 4WD class, I woke suddenly. Everything was silent. There were no kids or cats jumping on the bed, so I looked out the window to check on Orion's progress. Under the foggy full moon, the backyard was blurred by swaying tree shadows. Then I saw an especially dark shadow slink in a diagonal path. Was that an animal moving or was I just sleepy?

Snow Moon

Full moon through California buckeye tree at the Dipper Ranch, February 25, 2013

Late February's full moon is the Snow Moon.  In central coastal California, we had snow for about 4 hours this winter.

I meant to photograph the full moon just as it was coming over Georgia's Ridge. I was inside getting ready by cleaning my best lens only to get distracted by amazing reflections of the cowboy light in the newly cleaned lens.

Merganser Afternoon - Yellowstone Reflections

One afternoon in Yellowstone National Park I wanted to hike, but I was on my own and the Park Service strongly recommends that people hike in groups of three or more for safety in grizzly bear country. So I settled for a solitary stroll on the boardwalk at LeHardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River.

The boardwalk was too short to soothe my wanderlust, but it provided an excellent view of the rapids, so I settled onto the grizzly-free deck to watch the river noisily leap over and surge around rocks. Even here, in this little byway where the Yellowstone River regains its tumbling nature after leaving Yellowstone Lake, the park offered a rich opportunity to view wildlife. Out of a curtain of splashing bubbles, a bright orange bill appeared above a lowrider feathered back.

One Wolf in a Bison Herd - Yellowstone Reflections

A lone wolf surveys a bison herd at Yellowstone National Park

The fourth and last wolf we saw in our summer week at Yellowstone National Park was wandering in a bison herd. We first saw the wolf cross the East Entrance Road from the shoreline of Mary Bay on Yellowstone Lake and then immediately trot into a herd of bison on the other side of the road. The bulls, cows and young bison did not stampede when the wolf walked among them. They kept grazing and resting, belching and rolling in the dirt. The wolf slowly trotted through the herd of about 40 bison, occasionally stopping or changing direction, and constantly looking around.

The Lone Black Wolf - Yellowstone Reflections

A lone black wolf crosses the Lamar Valley

It starts as a black spot. No, actually, it starts as a bunch of cars on the side of the road in Yellowstone National Park and people looking through binoculars and scopes over the open Lamar Valley. So we stop, of course. And look. And shyly ask. With scraps of information shared in hushed tones and magnified glances, the black spot gradually turns into a wolf with four legs slowly moving across the wide river plain. A black wolf following its sharp nose, stopping, looking around, then moving on.

Bighorn Sheep or Mountain Goat?- Yellowstone Reflections

Bighorn sheep climbing slopes high above the historic Roosevelt Arch of Yellowstone National Park

We saw a group of female and juvenile bighorn sheep browsing on the steep slopes above the Gardiner River canyon near the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Bighorn sheep, especially females with young, prefer steep, open slopes where their nimbleness gives them the advantage to escape predators.

Still, they are cautious. As the group of approximately 15 ewes and lambs moved across the slope, the first adult would check over the edge.

Scenic Interlude - Yellowstone Reflections

Dead Indian Pass, Wyoming

Just a reminder that the Greater Yellowstone Area is rich in scenic vistas, history and geology in addition to all the wildlife which depend on and shape the same landscape.

This is part of a series of posts on wildlife observed in Yellowstone National Park in September 2012. To see more posts, select "Yellowstone" in the Sightings box in the right column.