A Hay In a Stranger
Bison Quest Christmas Carols – Oh Come All Ye Faceful December 20, 2013
Oh Come All Ye Faceful.
Oh Come All Ye Faceful…
Lions and coyotes and wolves, oh my! December 16, 2013
Wolf tracks – note oval shape with large claws. Big, too!
Ok, the other day I shared a mountain lion track and talked about what makes a cat track distinctive. Well, a few days later we found a very excited herd of bison when we went to feed. They were snorting and bucking and kicking up their heels, quite literally. That happens with them, and sometimes for no particular reason except that they feel good, but this time was a little different. Like they were proud of themselves or something. It wasn’t until my walk that I found out what had gotten them riled. Wolf tracks crossing through our aspen drainage. I followed the tracks and found that, while the wolf pretty much made a straight shot across the ranch, all the other ranch inhabitants certainly didn’t ignore him. I found where a deer had bounded across the wolf tracks and the buffs had milled around behind the wolf and completely obliterated the his tracks in other places. It didn’t look like the buffs chased the wolf, and he certainly hadn’t chased them, it was more like the buffs wound around behind the wolf and kept him on the move. I also found a set of coyote tracks that came up to the wolf tracks. Stopped (probably sniffed them), then began to follow the wolf tracks – the opposite direction the wolf was going! That coyote’s mom didn’t raise no dummy!! So very cool!
Coyote track, wolf track. I’ll leave you to guess which is which!
Guess who’s coming to dinner – a bull elk invites himself! December 9, 2013
I really LOVE game cameras – they are just so darn much fun. It’s sort of like getting a Christmas morning every time you go check them :). We knew someone was eating the hay (ok, we knew what was eating it too – elk tracks are pretty hard to mistake ) but we didn’t know it was this big fella.
Do I hear a camera click?
Guess who’s coming to dinner?
And then comes the cautious coyote… February 21, 2013
While some critters come right in to the camera, others make really sure that it’s okay first. This series shows the cautious canid starting in, then going back out, coming in again and then going back out, over and over. It took two nights before he finally actually ate at the bones. Even then, he would eat, then back off, then carefully come back in. This is how a little 20 lb canid lives in a hostile world.
Cautious coyote checks it out
Moves in…
Moves back out
Moves in again with a little more confidence
and finally, eats.
Knock 3 Times – and you get buffalo! February 16, 2013
Feeding our bison in the winter is just a matter of driving out to where we last saw them and throwing out hay. Usually they’re there. Sometimes they aren’t. And that’s when that old song by Toni Orlando and Dawn (yes, VERY old song) starts running through my head, “Knock 3 times on the ceiling if you want me, …. Because I honk the horn three times, over and over until…. HERE THEY COME! http://youtu.be/3K61YvfxbXA
Knock 3 Times on the ceiling if you want me….
First Magpies, then Ravens and – a Goshawk on carrion! February 1, 2013
While carrion isn’t the usual for Goshawks, they’re certainly not above taking advantage of fresh goodies. And when you’re a young of the year, now on your own, you are happy to take what you can get!
Immature Goshawk taking advantage of what’s availalbe.
Enter the Ravens. Getting bigger. January 30, 2013
Ravens replace the magpies at the “food” pile.
While the magpies are often the ones to find the goodies, the ravens are no slouches and are good at spotting food from above. And if they see a flock of magpies poring over something on the ground, then they know there’s food around.
What animal is next? Fun with a game camera. January 15, 2013
We LOVE game cameras! Every couple of days we sneak in, swap SD cards and eagerly load the pics onto the computer. It’s like Christmas – you never know what you’re going to get :)! So here’s a series of one of our game cameras. First, it’s the little guys. Magpies are almost always the first to find the goodies.
Magpies are almost always the first to find the goodies
and they’re happy to share with their friends.
Why Bison Quest? January 11, 2013
Come face to face with nature and wildlife in an eco friendly vacation. Live among bison and study wildlife alongside our biologists-then use what you learn to save our wild world.
Bison Quest Adventure Vacation Blog 