Birding out the windows. Lots of Goldfinches

We have had lots of rain and snow showers. That has put a halt to most everything we do but it has given us a chance to work on projects inside and planning for home improvements. We hired a contractor to install a heating and air conditioning system so there went quite a bit of money, (it’s kind of a waste as we only use the air conditioning a few weeks in the summer, (we never had it in Gillette and we lived there for thirty years.

The entertainment has been the flocks of birds. They are feeding on the aspen’s flowers. Which look like brown worms, after they seed. The migrating birds are hanging around as the daily snows are keeping them at our elevation which is about six thousand feet. A few days ago, a flock od American Goldfinches have arrived and feed each day on our neighbors Aspen tree and bird feeders.

They are accompanied by Cassin’s Finches and now Evening Grosbeaks,

of which populations are declining dramatically. The Grosbeaks are here year-round. We are doing a lot of window birding. Meanwhile we putter around the house working on jewelry and grinding cabochons and enjoying home cooked meals.

It’s supposed to warm up this weekend and so we will head to the park. The bears are still acting like cows as the elk have not yet calved. Clear skies

Mothers Day In Grand Teton National Park, 2025

I asked Renita what she wanted to do for Mother’s Day and of course she said, “Go to the Park, (meaning Grand Teton National Park)” We both thought there was a pretty good chance to see bears. We left our place in Star Valley at eight and arrived at Moran Junction about Ten. Turning North we stopped at the Oxbow and glassed for birds before continuing. Stopping at Willow Flats we spotted quite a few elk gathering there. It’s one of the calving spots in the park and the elk will give birth to calves.

The elk calves have no scent and will lie motionless as grizzles, wolves, and everything else will be hunting them, while the cow elk will graze in the open. The herd is good sized, which means lots of eyes watching for predators. As long as the newborn calves remain motionless their chances are pretty good, but if they spook and run, they are goners’ Further up the road we passed the place where we had seen Grizzly 1063 and her one-year-old cubs.

It wasn’t much further, and we saw the traffic jam and the four grizzlies. We had already had our cameras out and Renita dropped me off before finding a parking space. If you ever come looking for wildlife, you must be parked outside of the white line, or you will get a ticket. The bears were heading to the northeast, and I did get some good shots, Renita arrived, and we took lots of pictures. The bears next headed towards us and the Wildlife Management Team warned that the bears were again getting too close, less than 100 yards. Returning to our vehicles we were close enough that we had to get inside.

Meanwhile the bears stopped and so we were able to get quite a few pictures. The bear stayed far enough away that we only had to get inside for a little bit before we got the all clear from the Wildlife team, (I would like to thank them for the challenge of bears and too many people. They are an outstanding team!)

We ate lunch at the Willow Flats area and then decided to drive up Teton Park Road. There were a few cars parked, and people were taking pictures. Another bear jam, and this one was a small black bear climbing up the hill. Before I could get a picture, it disappeared into the trees. It didn’t matter as we had seen five bears in a day. That’s not our record but it was a great day, Our record is eight grizzlies). Leaving the park, we had to resupply and so we drove home. Clear skies. We found out that the next day two of the cubs were killed by a male grizzly. They kill the cubs to bring the sow into heat, No one had seen the third cub, and we feared for the worst. However today 1063 was spotted with her surviving cub, Thank goodness! By the way Renita took over 370 pictures!

More Grizzly Bears in Grand Teton National Park

Leaving Jen and Eric’s house we headed to our place in Star Valley. A day before we arrived we received an email from Josh who told us or place was all set up, (in other words he had dewinterized hooked up the water, etc). The next two days involved unpacking, cleaning, and checking our rock collections, (they all survived the winter). Deciding we needed a break we decided to visit Grand Teton National Park, hoping to find a bear or two. Soon after entering the park, we drove past the Oxbow Bend and found a huge bear jam.

Our cameras were ready and so Renita dropped me off, found a parking spot and walked back to meet me. The bears were still visible. They were on the other side of a copse of trees and Renita started taking pictures, using the manual focus. Whenever the object is in or behind trees the automatic focus is worthless as it puts the trees in focus and the subject is blurry, (the first pictures were all Renitas).

The bears teased us, as two of the cubs were sleeping. Bear 1063, (nicknamed Bonita), was grubbing. Grizzly bears are diggers. If you look closely, you can see the hump which is not present on Black Bears. The hump is a mass of muscle and bone which provides support for their digging. Finally, the other two cubs woke up and joined Mom and the largest cub digging for grubs and plants.

It always amazes us that grizzly bears graze like a herd of cows. That is until the cow elk calves are born at which time the bears, wolves, and coyotes all hunt the newborn calves.

Several times the sow, Bonita, herded her cubs towards the road, attempting to cross. The members of the Wildlife management team blocked the road, and one drove his vehicle in front of the bears hazing them using his horn, siren, and flashing lights to prevent them from crossing. In past years they were allowed to cross, and we wondered why this has changed, (perhaps because 399 and another of her offspring were hit and killed by cars). Do not speed!.

Bonita was blocked and so she tried to walk around a tree and cross at another place. Again, she and the cubs were hazed and again we wondered why. In the past, bear 399 and her cubs were allowed to cross. One of the team spoke to us and said that they didn’t want them at Colter Bay as there were too many workers getting ready for the summer season.a S

wainsons hawk soared overhead an I managed to get a decent photograph, We decided we had enough pictures, about four hundred, and so we had a picnic lunch at the Jackson Lake overlook.

Calling it a day we drove back home, stopping at Jackson to buy necessities. It had been another great day as we spotted four grizzly bears, numerous elk, and even a yellow rumped warbler. We did use the app Merlin, to record the singing birds, but it was just the usual red crowned kinglets. Clear skies

Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge May 2, 2025

Jen and Eric were working so we decided to go birding at one of our favorite places. Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge. It’s a short drive from their house in Hamilton and we usually see an occupied great horned owl nest.

The nest was empty so the owls must have flown, if they used it this year). So we continued on our walk. Hearing several different birds, Renita used her Merlin app to record their sound and to identify them. One of the birds it identified was a new bird for us, a Vaux’s Swift. They are migrating and they do nest in the area so we got one for our life list. Other birds we spotted and photographed were a cinnamon teal,

a Northern Shoveler

,

A Red Tailed Hawk, (with a vole in its claws), and a wild turkey.

As we watched the birds a muskrat swam by and a prairie dog/ground squirrel stood tall.

Nothing unusual but any day we get a new life bird is a great day. Clear skies

Idaho Falls and Hydroelectric Power

As many times as we have been to Idaho Falls, we had never been to the falls and the city park that surrounds the section of river. It’s near the Latter-Day Saints Temple that was completed in 1945.

The Falls are actually a series of rapids and small falls which was dammed as part of a hydroelectric project. After the Teton Dam Failure and resulting disaster in 1969, The City of Idaho Falls was able to procure funding to rebuild the three Hydro Plants.

The new dam and plants provide a third of the electricity needed by Idaho Falls. The project uses Bulb Technology, a European design which is quite different from how most hydroelectric dams operate in the United States.

The Falls and Rapids originally formed as the Snake River eroded through a vesicular basalt, (think lava with bubbles or holes in the flow). As many of the worlds falls, it eroded until the water found a softer layer underneath the cooled lava flow. It then formed a drop as the softer materials eroded faster leaving a cliff, (similar to Niagara Falls but different materials and much smaller).

We parked and then enjoyed a forty-five-minute walk along the northern side of the river. The park is a nice greenway contrasting with surrounding dry area . If you are ever in the area be sure stop and enjoy the scenic place. Clear skies