Yellowstone is a Birding Destination

The Beauty of Birds in Yellowstone Park

Geysers, Mountains, Beasts and Yes, Birds!

A trip to Yellowstone Park is a wonderous adventure. The highlights of this park are too many to list but I’ll bet most folks don’t know about one of them, birds. All kinds of birds.

I’ve visited Yellowstone Park many times and I still haven’t really taken it all in. The wonders of this park are endless. A walk down any trail and even a drive from spot to spot can produces lifetime memories. For a guy who is always looking for stuff and have been since I can remember I find Yellowstone to be a great birding destination. Let me preface this by saying I didn’t go to Yellowstone to go birding. In fact a fellow nature guy commented to me “You went to Yellowstone and came home with bird photos. You captured redtail hawks in Yellowstone ha ha ha!”

For me the birds are always a part of driving. Looking for birds of prey is a great game for a family on a road trip. On this road trip throughout Yellowstone the first birds noticed were summer tanagers and yes, redtail hawks. In fact I watched a redtail hawk hunt form a dead tree on the ground for longer than one might imagine.

Birds in Yellowstone are at almost every attraction with Mount Washburn and Mammoth Springs having the most species during my visits. On to some specifics. I had to take out my camera gear at the Canyon Campground because there were many Summer Tanagers. And on the way to Mount Washburn Redtail Hawks were incredibly common. As we in the midwest say “like robins”. On the mount Washburn Trail Head there were Mountain Bluebirds, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Roughed Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Chipping Sparrows and a few more that I didn’t identify. Visiting Mammoth I saw and attempted to photograph Northern Flicker, House Finch, Black Billed Magpie, Sparrows of a few sorts, Robins, Juncos, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Kingbirds, Stellar’s Jays, Cedar Waxwings and some species I couldn’t ID.

To the best of my memory here is a list of the birds I saw during a single trip to Yellowstone.

• Swainson’s Hawk
• Ferruginous Hawk
• Redtail Hawk
• Bald Eagle
• Harrier
• Kestral
• Prairie Falcon
• Merlin
• Peregrine Falcon
• Dusky Grouse
• Roughed Grouse
• Sage Thrasher
• Common Raven
• Northern Flicker- Yellow and Red Shafted
• Black Backed Woodpecker
• Summer Tanager
• Mountain Bluebird
• Sparrows of a few varieties
• Gray Jay
• Stellars Jay
• Clarks Nutcracker
• American Dipper
• American Wigeon
• Killdeer
• Crow
• Hermit Thrush
• Goldfinch
• Mountian and Black Capped Chickadee
• Swallows of a couple varities
• Golden Crowned and Ruby Crowned Kinglet
• Cedar Waxwing
• Red and white Breasted Nuthatch
• Common Merganser
• Gadwall
• Harlequin
• Mallard
• Pintail
• Scaup
• Pie Billed Grebe
• Sora
• Sandhill Crane

This gives you an idea that there are great birding opportunities in Yellowstone! So when in Yellowstone it’s not just about bison, geysers and scenery…it’s the birds!

Birds of Yellowstone Park

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