Day 160 – June 8th – Off to Yellowstone

Sunny, low 60s and breezy

       It’s up and at ‘em at 5:30 this morning as we meet our  guides, pile into the two vans and head south from Missoula for a 300 mile trip to Yellowstone.  We will stop and bird along the way, but it promises to be a long drive.

       We drive for about an hour and a half before we make our first stop of the day at Warm Springs Wildlife Management Area.  One of the impoundments begins to produce great birds even before we are all out of the vans.  A Barrow’s Goldeneye while too far away to photograph is still brought in close and natural with the help of the scopes.  My first “lifer” of the trip is a great sight.  On the pond along with the goldeneye are Common mergs, Shovelers, Buffleheads,  and a Wilson’s phalerope.  Yellow-headed blackbirds are visable but distant, but guide Terry assures us that we will soon be much closer and photos should not be a problem.  A Black-headed grosbeak is the next “life bird” at this sight and again the scopes bring it into sharp view.

       Moving along the dirt trails of the WMA, we soon come upon two Red-necked grebes which afford us with fine looks. 

       We moved onward to Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park and ascended     Mountain in the hopes of views of the Green-tailed towhee.  While the towhee eluded us, we did manage to get some new life and year birds in the form of Lazuli bunting, a Yellow chat which entertained us with a flight display, and a pair of Rock wrens.

Rock wren

Lazuli bunting

     We stopped at one of the many picnic/scenic view areas where Terry and John said we might pick up still more western specialties.  They were rifht on the money once again as we found the MacGillevray’s warbler and the Mountain chickadee,

       At the summit of the mountain, we immediately found a Dusky flycatcher (yet another lifer), multiple Violet-Green swallows, and the Clark’s nutcracker, a good find for this time of year.  We still had a good many miles to cover, however, and had to move on once again.  Next, it was on to Three Forks, where the Jefferson, Galleton and Madison River converge.  The Spanish Peaks loomed in the distance.

       We polished off the day with a cruise through Paradise Valley and a visit to a friend of Terry’s who has a myriad of feeders……seed, suet, and nectar.  Among the birds we found taking advantage of the generosity of this gentlemen we had Cassin’s finch, Pine siskins, Western tanager, Evening grosbeaks, Black-headed towhees and both Calliope and Rufous hummingbirds.

Evening grosbeaks

Calliope hummingbird

       Fifteen hours and 300 miles after we began the day’s adventure, we are finally back at our home away from home.  Tomorrow, it’s back into the field at 5:30 AM sharp with grizzly bear as the main target early in the morning.  After that, birds, birds, and more birds.  We’ll see you tomorrow.