Dancing with ducks

After yesterday’s Grizzlies – didn’t I mention the second distant one, also with two cubs, late in the evening? – I was reconciled to a more mundane day. But this was a warmer day and the sun shone and the scenery continued to be gorgeous and amazing.

And who needs bears anyway? There are plenty of Bison to watch, lots of Elk and even Yellow-bellied Marmots (which look rather like fat Prairie Dogs – so, cute, but not quite so cute).

But I hadn’t realised, silly me, that Yellowstone is such a great place for waterfowl. There are loads of Canada Geese but also Trumpeter Swan, White Pelican, Great Blue Herons, Sandhill Cranes, Western Grebes, Common Loons and a large array of ducks.

The ducks include the very familiar Mallard and Gadwall and the far less familiar Cinnamon Teal and Hooded Merganser. There are Goosanders and Mergansers, Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal, and more – maybe I will add Harlequin Duck, Canvasback or Redhead to this list over the next few days. There is a lot of water and there are a lot of ducks.

But I did see two Wolves today too – not as close as yesterday’s Grizzly and cubs but still a wonderful sight across a beautiful valley. Each time they crossed a patch of snow their shapes and gait leapt into sharp relief and then they would reenter the green vegetation and become dark unclear masses. But even as the Wolves walked indistinctly in the distance they exuded confidence. There was no need to hurry – this was their valley, they had killed an Elk there earlier in the day and had full stomachs. They could amble and they did. They ambled into the tree line and were lost to sight although not to memory.

But the ducks were nice too.

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