Friends,
The following is a report on a trip taken during the week of February
13th-20th to Yellowstone National Park. The weather seemed to be an almost
even mixture of sun, clouds and snow, with temperatures mostly around
20-30 during the days and 10-20 degrees at night. Our group included: Bob
Sundstrom, Sally Alhadeff, Richard Struve, Sandi Cohen, Kate Tillotson,
Eleanore and Richard Baxendale, Anne Prezyna and Linda Scoccia.
Highlights of the trip included: a flock of 300 Rosy Finches, 2 Northern
Pygmy-Owls perched atop dead trees(affording us fabulous views), Pinyon
Jays, Bohemian Waxwings, and for the big game enthusiasts, wolves, bison,
elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope. The skiing was pretty good
and with the spectacular thermal features we observed, it made for a
wonderful interlude from the terminally rainy Pacific N.W.
For the following list all birds were seen in the park unless noted.
Great Blue Heron Ardea heriodes (1 seen)
Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator (5 seen)
Canada Goose Branta canadensis (many)
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos (many)
Ringed-necked Duck Aythya collaris (2 seen)
Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephalia islandica (many)
Common Goldeneye Bucephalia clangula (many)
Bufflehead Buchephalia albeola (1 seen)
Common Merganser Mergus merganser (many)
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos (5)
Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus (many)
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus (1)
Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus (many along the road from Bozeman)
Rock Dove Columba livia (many)
Northern Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium gnoma (2 seen upon entering the park
from Gardiner)
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus (3 seen)
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens (1 seen)
Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus (25 seen in Gardiner at
a feeder on Travertine)
Stellar's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri (2 seen)
Gray Jay Perisoreus canadensis (5 seen)
Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana (many)
Black-billed Magpie Pica pica (many)
Common Raven Corvus corax (very large numbers)
Black-capped Chickadee Parus atricapillus (many)
Mountain Chickadee Parus gambeli (many)
Brown Creeper Certhia americana (1 seen)
Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis (2 seen)
Townsend's Solitaire Myadestes townsendi (many)
American Robin Turdus migratorius (5 seen)
Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor (1 seen)
American Dipper Cinclus mexicanus (many)
Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus (flock of 70 feeding on
apples north of Gardiner)
European Starling Sternus vulgaris (5 seen)
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia (2 seen)
American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea (5 seen)
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis (15 seen, included slate-colored,Oregon
and pink-sided forms at a feeder in Gardiner
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys (1 seen)
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus (2 seen on way to park from
Bozeman)
House Sparrow Passer domesticus (many)
Rosy Finch Leucosticte arctoa (flock of 300 seen in Gardiner
at a feeder at Granite and Travertine included
Black-capped and two forms of the Gray-crowned)
House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus (many)
Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus (10 seen at the same
location as the Rosy Finches)

We were quite pleased to have amassed a list of 41 species considering
that this was mostly a trip to ski and view the parks wildlife. If anyone
wants more specific information, feel free to contact me.

Barry Levine
levineb at belnet.bellevue.k12.wa.us
Seattle,Wa.