It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Yellowstone trip report, but hopefully it’ll be a new trend to continue into the year as I finish my winter photography workshops in the north and get ready for the spring season soon!

February 13th

It may be an unlucky number to many, but this day certainly brought us plenty of luck in the way of wolves and plenty of coyote sightings. The last few days had been a stark contrast from last month’s trip when we could hardly find a single coyote close enough to photograph.

Driving up the new road between Gardiner and Mammoth once again, we were on the lookout for still-antlered bull elk, coyotes, or possibly wolves. None of the above right away, but it didn’t take much longer to come across the Rescue Creek wolves in the Blacktail area.

At first, we just planned to stop at one pullout I knew had an almost-picked-clean bull elk carcass that had been attracting an occasional coyote. After a bit of walking around and looking, we started to hear a single howling wolf. This was one of the two lone black wolves roaming the area recently, one from the 8 mile pack and one from the Wapiti pack. They are both looking to pair up with a wolf from another pack, as their mating season is in full swing!

We walked down a packed trail in the snow nearby, both in the general direction of some more howling and a couple of people set up with spotting scopes. They were able to show us ten wolves total laying around on an island of bare ground in the surrounding snow. More howls from the black across the road kept the attention of one gray bedded down closer to us than the rest of the pack.

He or she eventually got up and made a short attempt to maybe cross the road before returning to the rest of the pack that was starting to head back into the hills and out of view.

The lone black wolf occasionally showed itself on the hill behind us, howling back and forth with this gray. We tried several different angles, but couldn’t get either of the howling wolves back into view. The black would continue its song repeatedly well into the morning, and even into the afternoon when we revisited the same area.

After the wolf action had mostly died down, we decided to continue down the road, eventually reaching Silver Gate and Cooke City in hopes of spotting a red fox as we had before. None showed themselves for us today, though they did for others later on.

I did spot a single golden eagle back up in its normal perch above the confluence of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek. Bison are still noticeably few throughout Lamar Valley, as many migrated west early in the season after some heavy snows and serious cold.

A couple of distant coyotes joined us for lunch again at the confluence, but too far to photograph in the harsh midday sun. They were both napping anyways.

Heading back west through Lamar, we made it just past the Buffalo Ranch before running into our first relatively close coyote. We were able to get into a pullout to wait for its arrival, as it slowly made its way west with some barking and howling.

That eventually paid off for him, as another coyote appeared out of Lamar Canyon. They both made a pretty long, but pretty quick trot to greet each other. Their meeting didn’t last long before a little tussle and decision to go their own separate ways.

After the denial, the original coyote was making its way quickly toward us from a few hundred yards away before disappearing behind the slope. Seeing some ears, we assumed it would continue in our direction but veered off to the left before trotting off through the edge of the parking lot.

We continued farther west, making a stop at Blacktail again. There was some faint howling, possibly from the black wolf still looking for love.

A second check on the bull elk carcass revealed a coyote trying his best to relocate an elk leg as big as he is. After some chewing and gnawing, he finally went on his way following the creek upstream.

We got a couple-second glimpse as he passed by down the bank from us.

There are still hundreds, if not thousands, of bison hanging around Gardiner and Mammoth, but they can be difficult to photograph being between pullouts along the windy new road.

February 14

We had a later start today, expecting several inches of new snow in Gardiner, which for once matched the forecast.. Visibility was pretty much nil all the way through the park, though the plow did keep the road clear enough to avoid playing the “where is the road” game.

We arrived in Cooke City to find others had already found the fox we were looking for. Unfortunately, these foxes are being attracted to the town by food from residents and businesses, but they’re still the only foxes I’ve seen all winter up here.

This one did a lot of napping, with the occasional sit, stand, or shake to clear the falling snow.

There wasn’t a lot to see on the drive back west in the afternoon, save for a few very snowed in bison bedding down in the snow.

Back at Blacktail, we stopped at news of a herd of bison headed down the road with a young one in tow. You can see a hint of the reddish-orange in the little guy in the middle.

Some of them decided to take a snowier route than others, including the little one.

February 15

We hoped to find some frosty bison this morning with the temperatures dropping below zero, but none seemed to want to cooperate with us. We found this very frosty herd hanging out near some steam in Mammoth Hot Springs but they never really arranged themselves for a pleasing composition. The light and frost combined with the steam did set up a great environment though.

We continued on towards Lamar Valley before stopping in the canyon with some people looking across the river. It turned out to be a mostly devoured elk carcass featuring a trio of coyotes. We’d check this spot several times over the next few days, just in case something more rare decided to show up. It would not be a bad spot to hope for a bobcat or lion to show up.

We took the old road out of Gardiner later in the afternoon looking for more bison. No frosty ones this time after the “heat” of the day melted it off, but we did come across one small photogenic herd.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of bison outside the park right now. They are being hunted and culled as they are most years, but the most recent count of 4,500 in the northern herd is the most counted since the park was created. Another 1,500 are in the central herd farther south into the park.

The northern part of the park could support up to 6,000 bison, and the central part could support 5,000.

Source: https://www.kbzk.com/news/local-news/a-lot-of-yellowstone-bison-to-be-removed-this-winter-says-ynp-biologist

February 16

This turned out to be a pretty slow day. Of course we saw plenty of bison, maybe a coyote or two, but I don’t think I took a photo all day. We’ve had quite a few days like that this year, for whatever reason. Deep snow sending a lot of prey species to migrate north out of the park likely has something to do with it. It was a cold one though, starting the day at -25°F at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch.

February 17

This is a shot I’ve been hoping to capture during the winter for many years - a massive bull bison covered in frost. I think it was -10°F here, ensuring plenty of it.

We passed this big guy coming up the road but continued on for a while before deciding to turn around and wait for him in a pullout.

I think we saw him again later that afternoon, where he had only made it about four miles down the road. He certainly wasn’t in any hurry with that kind of cold, but he seemed to be on a mission to get somewhere…

This above photo is available as a print on fine art paper or metal here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1405833776/

Down the road at Slough Creek, we got out of the car to be surrounded by howling from coyotes. I was able to spot a couple of them in the distance, so we hiked up the road and through some deep snow to get a little closer. We stayed back 100 yards or so to avoid spooking them, although they certainly had to be aware of us. In typical wildlife fashion, they mostly napped while we were there but broke into another howling session by the time we hiked back to the parking lot.

All images taken with Canon R5 & EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II (+2x extender most of the time)

Interested in joining me for a photography workshop in Yellowstone? Check out www.workshops.trentsizemore.com for more info, including dates and pricing!

Winter in Yellowstone Report: February 13-17, 2023

February 13th

February 14

February 15

February 16

February 17

TRENT SIZEMORE

Winter in Yellowstone Report: February 13-17, 2023

February 13th

February 14

February 15

February 16

February 17

Winter in Yellowstone Report: March 14-18, 2023

Winter in Yellowstone Report: February 5-11, 2023

TRENT SIZEMORE