Nugget 17: Yellowstone for Birders |
 Trumpeter swan and cygnets
These snow white swans with coal black bills dabble (that is, go bottom up) for aquatic plants. Some trumpeter swans nest along the Madison River.
Two hundred seventy-nine species of birds have been identified in Yellowstone since its establishment. A bird lover could spend his or her whole visit to the park just watching birds. Here are ten good bird-watching places with some of the types of birds you may find there.
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Northern and northeastern parts of Yellowstone |
- On Beaver Ponds Trail and the Upper Terrace Drive at Mammoth Hot Springs, look for: red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, woodpeckers, mountain bluebirds.
- Floating Island Lake near Tower-Roosevelt Junction: yellow-headed blackbirds and American coots.
- Ponds east of Junction Butte: red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, mallards.
- Slough Creek campground road: ring-necked ducks, lesser scaup.
- Soda Butte on the Northeast Entrance Road: cliff swallows nesting on the back side of Soda Butte.
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Western part of Yellowstone |
- Seven-Mile Bridge area on the West Entrance Road: trumpeter swans (above), mallards, Canada geese.
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Eastern part of Yellowstone |
- Pelican Creek bridge east of Fishing Bridge Junction: American white pelicans (below left), California gulls, Barrow's goldeneyes, mallards.
- Fishing Bridge meadows, about two miles north of Fishing Bridge Junction: pelicans, gulls, geese, Barrow's goldeneyes.
- Mary Mountain Trailhead turnout, overlooking Alum Creek and the Yellowstone River: sandhill cranes (below right), mallards, Barrow's goldeneyes.
- North Rim Drive at Canyon, especially Lookout Point: ospreys' nests on the pillars of rock in the canyon.
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 American white pelican
(left)
 Sandhill crane
(right)
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CREDITS: All photos on this page are used courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park.
˜ ˜ ˜  You can find more information about these birds in the chapter of Yellowstone Treasures called "Living Things: A Yellowstone Sampler," pages 319–43.
Copyright 2002, 2004. All Rights Reserved. |
