Okay, so I allowed us to sleep in a bit again today... only 15 extra minutes wouldn't hurt in theory. ;) Entering the park at 6AM, our eastern drive was devoid of stops all the way to Tower. We saw Bill and Sandi chatting in the parking lot. No news to report (Rosie was hiding), so we headed toward the Lamar while I figured Bill would scout Slough for badgers again.
About halfway through the Lamar, I noticed a larger truck/SUV pulled off the north side of the road, license plate GR8PIX. A large lens was pointed out the window... I recognized it as a vehicle belonging to a photographer we'd seen earlier in the trip. More importantly, the night before I had seen a lone photographer standing out off the road in the exact same area, watching and waiting.
Watching and waiting for what? I had some theories, but my curiosity finally got the best of me, so I pulled over. Walking up to the vehicle, I wandered around to an open window. Before I could say hello, the man inside gave me a "what the hell do you want?" arms-raised shrug. So I asked what he was shooting. Quickly removing his lens from the window mount, he exclaimed that he wasn't shooting anything. I mentioned I had seen someone out in the same spot yesterday evening... and he proclaimed he wasn't there the evening before.
We watched badgers come and go for three hours. |
Well, that last part may have been true, but it was obvious he wasn't interested in sharing his secrets with anyone. I thanked him and moved on.
Near the Confluence an immature bald eagle perched in a tree across the river. There was little movement elsewhere aside from the numerous herds of elk which continue to dot the northern part of the park. There are so many, often on the move, that I keep expecting to see a wolf chasing them all. :roll:
Rolling back through, we ran into Helene and Rene as they were coming through Little America. I relayed my story about the abrasive and evasive GR8PIX, and chatted about yesterday's activities before we agreed to follow them back through Lamar. Passing by the mystery location from earlier, H&R surprisingly pulled over. I thought that maybe they had seen GR8PIX's vehicle and were going to also ask what was being seen (jokingly, since we knew the likely response). Instead, Helene walked back to us and said she thought she may have spotted a badger.
As I had pegged it as a possible badger den (why else would people be staking it out last night and this morning?), I eagerly followed them back to the spot. And sure enough, she saw it again. The GR8PIX mystery was solved, whether he liked it or not. Woo hoo! A badger sighting!
We set up and soon a badger jam was forming. We flagged down Bill, who was driving by... he'd finally get his badger sighting just before he had to leave for Bozeman. Not long after we arrived, Helene spotted a baby peeking its head out of the sett (which, according to badger expert Jenn is the correct name for a badger den). The kit didn't show itself for long though, and momma badger soon left, waddling up the hill and out of sight. At this point, GR8PIX decided to leave, convinced that there was no way the badgers would show themselves with so many people present, even though we were quite a ways away. He was wrong.
First, momma returned after a long absence, with food.
I had my lens aimed at the den, and could only fire a couple shots using the remote trigger, since she dove straight into the hole. So much for any kits coming out to greet her. Over the next couple hours, she came and went, disappeared and reappeared. At one point, bison crossed in front of the sett, and momma stood watch, making sure the beasts didn't get too close.
During one of mom's sessions away from the sett, a coyote appeared in the flats... and headed directly toward the hole. We all knew what was to come, and tensed in anticipation. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the coyote veered and trotted away from the sett. Somehow, the kit within had been spared! The mother eventually returned and made her way inside, but the coyote was never far away. In time, it returned to the hillside and this time went all the way to the entrance.
Several times it peeked its head in, and we all awaited conflict (somewhat eagerly this time, rather than in dread when the sett was unattended). But nothing happened. Instead of the stereotypical vicious badger latching onto the coyote's snout and chasing it away, mom just hid inside and dared the coyote to enter. Eventually, the visitor gave up and moved along.
Mother badger reappeared soon after and took off on another extended trip. We thought she was out hunting again, but upon her return, she coaxed the kit out of the den. The youngster took a while to gather enough courage to leave the safety of home, but it eventually crawled out onto the hillside. And then we were in for another treat... a second kit appeared!
The family cautiously moved its way uphill and we realized that the mother had been out digging a new den. Apparently the coyote visit was enough, and it was time to move into new digs. The badgers disappeared over the hillside, and our three hour visit was over. We all relished our good fortune, not knowing about a final twist in the plot that would come later in the afternoon.
The day ended at, of all things, a bird jam. |
It was time for lunch! Jenn, Helene, Rene, Brett, Maniuk and I went up to the scenic Soda Butte Creek Picnic Area for a bite to eat while Reny and Erik ran to Cooke City for gas. When they returned, we drove down toward Trout Lake for an otter search. Arriving in Round Prairie, we were greeted by a surprising number of cars on the side of the road. Looking out into the flats, we could see a large object chasing a much smaller one. It looked like a bear was hunting down lunch... but upon closer inspection, it was actually a grizzly sow with two little cubbies. :) We watched them until the trio ambled out of sight on the far side of the meadow.
Up to Trout Lake, then Buck Lake and then back to Trout Lake. That was the roadmap that had led to otter sightings my last two times up. On the way up, we ran into Y-Netter Joe_C and his son. They mentioned that a black bear was seen walking up the hillside above the lake and a couple grizzlies could be seen on a far ridge. But no otters.
And that was the story. Despite sticking to my previously successful route, we didn't see any otters. The rangers we ran into at the lake hadn't heard of any sightings yet this spring. Nor did we see the bears, though we did come across tracks leading up to Buck Lake.
The hike was fun, though somewhat unsuccessful, and afterward we piled into our cars to do one more Tower drive to end the afternoon. As we passed through the Lamar, two coyotes were having a rendezvous on the south side of the road. One had an object in its mouth. Jenn said, "that's not a badger in its mouth, is it?" "Not unless it's just a badger head," I replied... the object was too small, so the badgers had to be safe... we assumed it was a ground squirrel. It was tempting to stop and take pictures, but we chose to move on instead.
Arriving at Calcite Springs, we ran into a jam... a bird jam? Photographers were lined up across from the Springs lot shooting blue birds and warblers. Even the rangers were taken aback by this development... you mean, it's not a bear jam? Bart and Monique were there, as were Dave, Rick and Sandi. There were some nice opportunities to capture some colorful birds... the male blue bird would even flutter in a place for a bit looking for a meal.
Then, Maniuk arrived. He had stopped to photograph the coyotes back in the Lamar, and quickly beckoned us over. He had captured a close-up of the object in the coyote's mouth and wanted us to see. Firmly grasped in the coyote's jaws was... a baby badger head. Unbelievable, and somewhat upsetting to folks who had witnessed the little kits mere hours before.
There was nothing left to do at that point but unwind with a little Dutch Happy Hour, say goodbye to Bart, Monique, Reny and Erik (who all fly out tomorrow) and head home. I have a feeling Jenn will be cursing every coyote she sees from here on out.
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