What Can Be Seen in 8 Hours in Yellowstone

3 Grizzly Bears, 4 Wolves, Bison, Elk and Mule Deer.

It all began as a moose photography trip to Grand Teton National Park. I spent 4 days camping, searching and hiking to photograph bull moose. Always hoping to find a full grown adult moose either in the water or out in the sage with the mountains in the background. That didn’t exactly pan out. I found plenty of moose but not where I wanted them. So goes nature photography. I made the decision on day 5 to drive to Yellowstone. In particular Hayden Valley. Travelling into Yellowstone in October means small crowds. There was only 1 other car at Fishing Bridge!

Now heading to Hayden Valley I started to get a little amped. Hayden Valley has been the scene of many incredible nature observations and I had an idea I was about to experience more of them. Moving into the Mud Pots area I passed many bison and quite a few humans visiting the Mud Pots. Shortly thereafter I could see many vehicles parked in a pull out just north of Sulphur Caldron. I’ve seen quite a few grizzlies in this area on past trips and instinct told me there’s a grizzly near the Yellowstone River.

As I drove toward the pull out I could see a grizzly bear on the east side of the river! I parked, grabbed my gear and headed toward the people pointing all kinds of cameras toward the bear. I set myself up where the light and angle was best and there I stood along the Yellowstone River with numerous other on lookers for 3 hours. The bear was digging in the grass/sage mix. I’m guessing for tubers and maybe a rodent or two. I know what you’re thinking and yes we were viewing the grizzly from a safe distance. One thing I learned was this grizzly was not fond of full grown adult bison. On more than one occasion the bison got too close to the grizzly bear and the bear high-tailed it away from the bison.

Around 3pm I figured I should get greedy and try and find another bear or some elk so I headed toward Cody Wyoming where I was to spend the night. Just south of Yellowstone Lake in an area of peaks and valleys was another grizzly bear! I’d like to tell you I found this one but there were 3 or 4 cars pulled over looking down into a valley. I personally don’t like to point my camera down at animals so I decided to keep moving. Within 3 minutes 3-4 other vehicles were stopped on the roadside looking at a pack of wolves. They too were down an embankment so I kept heading toward Cody. This is a beautiful drive. I drive slow so it was very nice to have almost no traffic.

Maybe 30 minutes had passed, could have been 40 but I knew the light was going to be gone soon. In this valley the sunshine was minimal and my brain went to “it would be nice to get a shower and a bed”. Moving downhill on Hwy 14 a truck was pulled over onto the median. An arm was waving out the window. I slowed to a crawl, a grizzly bear was in the ditch 5o yards away. It began to cross the road right between me and the other truck and into the minimally forested west side of the road. Here’s where good fortune happened. Just ahead was a right turn. I arrived there in seconds along with the other truck and then another. Basically we were all hoping this bear would walk towards us. And it did! I had almost no time to remove the 1.4 extender on my camera but I got it off in record time and hit the hammer on my  camera.

I just had one of the coolest nature experiences in my life. A grizzly at short distance with me and the other 2 guys safely in position to capture the scene which you can see below.

Moving once again slowly down Hwy 14 to find the grizzly I gave up after a few minutes and drove towards Cody. Along the way and in the dark I could make out the silhouettes of quite a few elk at lower altitude and I soon found a shower and a bed in Cody Wyoming.

Hayden Valley Grizzly

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Scouting Loons and Grebes

Curiosity Got the Best of Me

A few weeks had passed since I last ventured to photograph waterfowl so I towed my boat to a couple of lakes looking to see the status of nesting loons, red-necked grebes and western grebes.

The morning was chilly, 41 degrees when I launched my boat into Clearwater Lake. Typically I can see a loon or two from the boat landing but not on this morning. I took a leisurely drive around most of the lake and I only spotted 2 pair of loons. Surely more were on this body of water and my guess is they were holding tight to nesting cover on this cold May morning. I stopped briefly to photograph one pair fishing just out of the wind blown area making this photographer a happy camper.

The red-necked grebe population on this body of water appears to be good and I easly found numerous red-necked grebes including a few that appeared to be on nests.

Scouting a bit more I saw a loon buried in the shoreline cover and soon I saw it’s mate hovering near by. Continuing around likely cover I ran into one more loon. It was now after 9am and with a high bright sun and some wind I decided to go fishing for a while before making the decision to head to Lake Osakis for the evening running of the western grebes.

Arriving at Osakis around 4:30 I immediately heard the western grebes followed shortly by actual sighting of westerns that had gathered mid-lake. I found that to be somewhat unusual but so be it. Among the westerns were quite a few red-necked grebes along with rafts of coot. Making my rounds into know western habitat I found myself placed among quite a few westerns with the hope many of them would be running on the water for the next 4 hours. I say hoping because I’ve been here many times and the grebes don’t necessarily always run across the water. Within minutes I saw 3 of them run and that was it for the next hour or so. I noticed an area where the grebes appeared to be more more in tune with mating displays so I moved my boat position to a spot where I was ready to capture them running across the water. Unfortunately the grebes weren’t in a running mood and I only had one brief chance to get that image.

As I drove back to the boat landing I pondered the first couple of times I made the trip to see western grebes run. This was in 2011 and the western grebes ran all day long from sunrise to sunset. Since then I’ve made about 6 trips to watch this better than cool behavior with very minimal running or breeding displays. I will certainly make another trip to Lake Osakis to see the westerns run across the water. Maybe even this year. Stay tuned.

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Horned Grebes Put on a Show

In of all places Minneapolis

Horned grebes are diving birds eating almost anything they can swallow that’s in the water. During sring they also put on a cool mating display dancing there way across local waters including the city Lakes of Minneapolis and St Paul.

Over the years these small birds who weigh about a pound decend on Minnesota typically in small flocks oof 4-8 birds. That said, I’ve seen 100 of them in a single group.  What makes them a fun photography target is besides their beauty and gregarius behavior is many times horned grebes will cruise the shoreline in search of food and mates making them quite available to a guy in waders with a camera.

Below is a selection of horned grebe images I’ve snapped over the years. Some images are in close range while others are big time crops depicting dancing or fishing but I like them.

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Canoe Country in May

May is boom or bust. Let’s go for boom.

Those traveling to the BWCA and Quetico often ask me how’s the fishing going to be on my trip. In which I follow-up with when are you going?

I’ve been to The BWCA/Quetico many times in May and it’s my experience that May breaks down in two ways, late ice out and early ice out. Arriving on fishing opener weekend can be a challenge. Water is cold and sometimes on late ice out years it’s very cold. Walleye and smallmouth fishing can be tough on late ice out years. On the flip side the lake trout fishing can be excellent and the big pike bite can be very good as well. I’d sum up May by saying the later in May you go the better the fishing will be.

Lake Trout

Trout tend to be shallow (10-30 feet) and trolling crankbaits along the shoreline break (best guess is 50-100 feet from shore) is a great way to load some lakers as is jigging tubes. My choice rod for lake trout is a medium power fast action baitcaster for trolling and I prefer the same type of set up for jigging but in a spinning rod. But this is the back country so you may only have 2 rods so just pick your favorite based on how much trolling you’ll do. The baits I’ve had the most success with are white tubes followed by minnow style crankbaits that run 12-20 feet. A good day of  lake trout fishing can produce 40 or more lakers. I can’t stress enough that if you catch a laker on a shoreline keep working that shoreline with both a crankbait and a jig. Tip: If you catch a few lakers on a shoreline trolling and the bite slows switch to a jig and fish the area again.

Big Pike

My experience on big pike is to fish a jig very slowly on the bottom in areas that attach to shallow bays.

Most of the big pike I’ve caught in mid-May are caught on 5 inch grubs. A good day can yield 10-20 pike over 10 pounds with many approaching or surpassing 42 inches. If you are so lucky to have warm sunny days I’ve stumbled on big pike in mud bottom bays and best of all spots in and around cane that has yet to emerge. A good pair of polarized sunglasses is most helpful finding these underwater cane fields.

I’m going to further break down the big pike situation. A typical May has the pike shallow (8-15 feet) but still somewhat sluggish and offering them a snack sized soft plastic produces more consistent results and you may even stumble on a walleye, lake trout or smallmouth bass. Areas to focus on are sandy flats and entrances to mud bottom bays. If the weather on your trip is warm and sunny the pike tend to be more shallow 2-6 feet and more aggressive. You can stick with the jig but switch to a bigger profile swimbait and fish it faster. Spinnerbaits and glide style baits are also effective although you will find it’s preferable to use baits with a single hook. Big pike with multiple treble hooks in them pose issues that I don’t like to mess with in the back country. My pike gear is also a medium power fast action rod either a casting rod or spinning rod will do just fine.

Walleye

Walleye fishing for me in May is always hit and miss as far as big numbers. The nice part is while maybe the total number of walleyes isn’t what it will be in June it is a big fish time of year. I’ve had some trips in May where we caught more walleyes over 27 inches than keeper size walleyes.

No matter the time of year I always find walleyes on sandy shorelines and sand flats that slope into deeper water. I also like current. If you find current and sand chances are you’ll catch walleye. Maybe even lots of them them! I fish a 7 foot extra fast Predator ML spinning rod for walleyes and smallmouth. I’m casting a 1/8 ounce jig with a black plastic worm or a minnow color grub in 6-12 feet of water most of the time.

Smallmouth

During May I typically don’t target smallmouth bass unless I stumble onto them. We catch plenty of them fishing for walleyes. If smallies are your target use the same set up as you do for walleyes but fish the entire shoreline not just the sandy areas with a jig and plastic. On sunny days you may see them swimming along rock shelves attached to deeper water. I’ve found these fish to be very agreeable to my presentations. Smallies may come from anywhere at this time of year and most are cruisers looking for an easy meal.

Gear

My recommendation for gear is simple. Each angler in the canoe brings two rods. One is a medium power casting rod and the other is a medium light spinning rod. I prefer fast action on the baitcaster and extra fast on the spinning rod but bring what you have. I always bring one extra rod per canoe. My choice is always a medium power spinning rod because it’s the most versatile option.

Lure choices are simple. The go-to is a 1/8ounce jig made with a really good hook. Hooks are very important in these waters. I’ve experienced a straightened hook on more than one occasion and it won’t happen again.

Here’s my tackle box mix in May:

Ten 1/8 ounce jigs per day. 5 days 50 of them
Ten 1/16 ounce jigs per day. 5 days, 50 of them
Twenty 1/4 ounce jigs.
1 spinnerbait
1 glide bait
2 topwaters
5 minnow style crankbaits 10-20 foot divers.
10 plastic worms per day
10 grubs per day
3 wire leaders
1 Needlenose pliers
1 Hookout

Any trip to canoe country is a good time to go and May can be outstanding. Remember this is a great multi-species time of year and be prepared to fish for lake trout, pike, walleye and smallmouth bass. Good skill!

Images from May trips into Canoe Country

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Beauty, Nature, Hiking, Photography

Antelope Island in March is Better Than Advertised

I like to drive. I had decided years ago that one day I’d drive to Antelope Island to photograph the wonderous swarms of birds that migrate thru this area each spring. March 2025 was the time. I did this drive in two days. Day one from Minneapolis St Paul to Casper Wyoming where I had the second best burrito I ever ate!

Day two was a scenic drive from Casper to Antelope Island. It had snowed an inch or so over night. This area is where the high prairie meets the mountainous region and the snow added an element to the drive that made the landscape glow. The drive from Casper to Rawlins was among the most scenic drives I’ve ever made and if you are driver you need to put this route on your list. In addition to the scenic beauty this land is full of antelope!

Arriving at Antelope Island around 3pm the lake was still and I could see thousands of birds on the water. American avocets mostly but also a mix of various ducks and other shorebirds. I set up camp on site 1 at the Ladyfinger campground located on Ladyfinger Point. I chose this site because it appeared more remote and less like a KOA campsite. My site was excellent, tucked into the brush and away from the one other camper who was there. I do have to warn you this area is very busy at sundown because of the incredible views of over the lake and mountains to the west.

I did some scouting and made a decision on what the next day would provide for entertainment in nature. Great Salt Lake was shy of water on my visit and the shorebirds and waterfowl I wished to photograph were well out into the lake. Too far for photos so I made my rounds looking for other photography opportunities. What I found were incredible numbers of western meadowlark along with horned larks, long-billed curlew, northern harriers, burrowing owls, ravens, chukar, spotted towhee, jack rabbits, bison and antelope.

Waking well before sunrise I made the 20 minute drive to Fielding Garr Ranch a noted historical spot that also features the opportunity to see barn owls. This drive has a snowed capped mountain to the west and Great Salt Lake to the east. Pretty cool. Unfortunately I did not see a barn owl but on the way there were numerous rabbits, bison, antelope, harriers and grassland birds. On the way back north I stopped to photograph horned larks and western meadowlarks. My next stop was the area with burrowing owls and long-billed curlew. This is near the visitor center. I wanted to photograph them in the morning light before heading out a nice hike on the Buffalo Point Trail.

I spent 3 days on Antelope Island looking for nature and hiking the trails that were not very crowded for such a beautiful place. In the absence of opportunities for waterfowl and shorebirds I spent much time hiking and photographing the species that were in front of me as they say. In the end the absolute beauty, eye candy as I refer to it was so captivating I found myself more than satisfied with my experience despite not being able to photograph shorebirds and waterfowl. I highly recommend a trip to Antelope Island. And for this who prefer to fly it’s just a 30 minute drive from Salt Lake City.

Birds viewed on Antelope Island March 2025.

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Migration in Full Swing in Minneapolis

Deja Vu in Minneapolis

Once again Minneapolis is the hotspot for early Spring waterfowl viewing and photography. Each year since I began my nature photography quest I’ve witnessed numerous species of waterfowl in the lakes of Minneapolis and St Paul. It may sound crazy but these lakes harbor many different waterfowl each April including; Northern Shovelers, Redhead, Canvasbacks, Blue Wing Teal, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Common Loon, Red-Necked  Grebes, Horned Grebes the occasional Eared Grebe, Pintail Ducks and the stars of the show Red-Breasted Megansers.

Why are Red-Breasted mergansers the star of the show? Well most years there are 100’s of them in the Minneapolis City Lakes and Lake Phalen in St Paul is also known to harbor them in April. Red-breasted Mergansers are here to court, feed and rest before heading North to their breeding grounds mostly in Canada. Drakes are constently performing an elaborate display of calling, bobbing and weaving for the hens hoping to provide what’s needed for a successful nesting season. This  activity often happens close to shore giving the birder a great view at these seldom observed birds right here in Minneapolis St Paul.

If you’re interested in seeing red-breasted mergansers, buffleheads, goldeneye, horned grebes and red-necked grebes now is the time to head to the Minneapolis City Lakes. You may even encounter numerous othe waterfowl species.

The images below were shot in April of 2025.

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The Owl Irruption Continues In Northern Minnesota

My 6th trip was the best.

Goals unachieved I once again made my way to Northern Minnesota in search of owls. This time I was pretty sure I knew where at least one great gray owl was. Not to my surprise the famous great gray owl of Two Harbors was on display for many photographers to watch and photograph. This particular owl was actively hunting for the crowd but it was not the featured act on my trip up the north shore.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Two Harbors boat landing I was among the last nature geeks to arrive. This day was mostly cloudy and I felt no need to leave my house at 4am. There were 27 owl enthusiasts (yes I counted them) pointing cameras at this great gray owl who was hunting from a small pine not far from the boat landing. Some had long lenses while other still employed short range models and cell phones. I’m not a big crowd guy but I couldn’t help but jump into the fray shooting images over the crowd from a distance with my 500mm lens. This was cool but I was here to watch and photograph the majestic beast hunting voles. I wanted flight shots. Throughout the morning the great gray owl moved about from perch to perch always working into the significant wind. Using that knowledge I continually attempted to predict the flight of the owl. This tactic proved to be somewhat productive. Owls don’t always fly where you think they will.

Having a long lens employed is both an advantage and at times a disadvantage. The long lens allowed me to track the owl over greater distances and away from the group of photographers. The disadvantage was this owl was jumping up vertically from fence posts to pounce on voles and my long lens didn’t allow for me to effectively get these images from a distance.

I stayed with this owl for a few hours but it never really went where I was predicting it would go. Most of my good images were on perches which is cool but not my number 1 goal. I had been up the north shore numerous times this winter and I had found numerous owls including the rare boreal owl weeks before so I thought…should I  look for other owls?

Making a move from the famous Two Harbors owl was a risk I was willing to take. I made the decision to get some lunch and try and find another great gray or two.

Like a fisherman would do I headed to search an area I was successful in weeks earlier. Driving the county roads in St Louis County for a while I had an instinct to go to an area that was hot in early January. I found a great gray owl on this drive but it was not in an area conducive to flight photography so I bailed and returned to the Two Harbors owl. The crowd was now much smaller maybe 8 photographers and it appeared the great gray had moved off into the woods. Pondering the opportunities before me I decided to drive back to owl number 2.

Upon my arrival owl 2 had moved. I began my way down the road hoping to find owl 2. Found! And now it was in a more favorable place for a photographer. Owl 2 was perched not far from the road and obviosly hunting. This would be the beginning of what I now know was the single greatest hour of bird photography I’ve ever experienced. Owl 2 was actively hunting from perch to perch as the sun was settng and it offered me the chance to take a zillion images at 20 frames per second. I had an idea that I might have some excellent images of owl 2. One squence had me make a corret guess in it’s flight path and at that moment I was pumped thinking these shots will be what I was aiming for.

Now having seen my images that sequence was not exactly as imagined, good but not excellent. What I did find was a series of images that set apart from any other sequence I’d ever shot. I think what happens is you get so lost in the moment. Concentrating on holding the camera while following the bird as best you can takes away from thoughts of framing up a shot. It’s nice to get lost in bird photography and sometimes you get rewarded.

Below are some of my images from February 22, 2025 and day I won’t forget

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Its an Owl Irruption Year in Northern Minnesota

Traveling up North? Watch the ditches and tree tops for Great Gray Owls.

There’s something to be said for driving the back roads of northern Minnesota in the winter. I recently took a 15 hour vacation to northern Minnesota in search of owls and peace. I found both of these experiences and I must say if you are after either of these owl species now is the time to go. Ok maybe not now, it’s 20 below but soon. Right now it’s a birding mecca up in the boreal forest. Chances are you won’t even have to look hard to find a great gray owl or a rare boreal owl. These raptors attract small crowds and I found a couple of these crowds that lead me to boreal owls. The boreals are tough to find. Rare and small finding them is a process of driving slow enough to scan the roadside ditches for these smallish birds perched on twigs or tucked into a pine. Boreals are rare but I wanted to find the bigger badder boys of the boreal forest, the great gray owl: great grays are more entertaining to watch and easier to find. They’re big and they will perch in the open. Great grays will hunt consistently thru the day and they often hunt roadside ditches offering excellent viewing and photography opportunities.

Boreal Owl

Leaving my house at 6am on a cold winter morning I began the drive up 35W towards Duluth. With the radio on mindless entertainment it was easy to envision spotting my first great gray in quite a few years. I had an idea of where to start looking for them and it would start just outside of Duluth. Driving the back roads towards Two Harbors there is no traffic and I was able to go slow without being an annoyance to fellow drivers. It wasn’t long when I found a group of folks looking at something. I stopped for a moment to see what they saw. I know, I know but this isn’t gawking. Hopping out of my truck I quickly learned of a boreal owl sighting and yep there it was buried in a group of snaggy pines. How these folks found this bird I’ll never know but it was cool to see. Back in the truck I continued driving and sipping my now cold coffee. I got a tip from my friend Po and I went to quickly visit another boreal. This one was eating a vole! I stayed on this owl for a bit then I went on my way. Folks are enamored with boreals.

Continuing on I made my way to some roads known to harbor great gray owls during winter. It was afternoon now and I was getting a bit anxious to find a great gray.

Driving slowly and scanning the tree tops in front of me I spotted a shape low in a ditch. A great gray was perched in a snag about 3 feet off the ground. This wasn’t exactly where I thought I’d find an owl but I’ve been scanning the roadside for decades every time I drive and I’m not surprised. I snapped a couple images of this owl and moved a bit farther down the road. Maybe a mile later another great gray owl, this time perched about 12 feet up in a pine tree. I once again snapped his photo then retreated to my truck to warm up and wait. I watched this great gray hunt a nearby field for nearly an hour and darn near got an opportunity to snap images of it as it flew down to snag a meal. But I had grown bored and was answering a text instead of pointing my lens at the great gray. Damn! The phone now neatly tucked away I went about finding another great gray owl. Hopefully in an area more conducive to photography. While driving my patience wore out and I returned to the area holding the great grays I’d seen earlier. This time I sat until the light was gone. I watched great gray number 2 hunt a field then the ditch. I watched it perch feet from my truck on a sign. Cool to see but not exactly what I was hoping for. I always hope for the best! With dark nearing I started to head back to hwy 61 signalling the end to the actual vacation part of the day. Along the way I saw two other great gray owls.

My day long vacation had produced 8 owls in total as well as some needed peace in the dead of winter. Stopping at Toby’s on the way back I couldn’t believe you could get warm caramel rolls at 6pm! Not a bad vacation day!

Great Gray Owl

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