I just spent a few precious hours in Grand Teton National Park.
Memorable sights included a Badger trotting along a sagebrush plain,
and several American Bison taking a dust bath, with billowing clouds of
dust backlit by the setting sun.

I also had two memorable bird encounters:

First, I was eating a quick picnic dinner while parked at the Jenny
Lake boat ramp, when I spotted two adult Blue Grouse ambling along;
they were casually feeding and keeping a respectful distance from the
hikers who were excited to see and photograph the birds. Then a Common
Raven, sitting atop a tall rock, spotted the two grouse and flew down
to the ground a few feet away from them. One grouse went behind a
tree, but the other grouse warily eyed the dark intruder. When the
raven hopped to about four feet away, the grouse raised its hackles,
raised and spread its tail slightly, lowered its head, and charged
straight toward the raven, very nearly reaching it. The raven
squawked, jumped up, and flew back a few feet. Then the raven
approached again, and again the grouse charged, causing the raven to
squawk and retreat. The raven continued testing the grouse about four
more times, then flew off. The grouse won the encounter!

Then, while standing on the banks of the Snake River at Oxbow Bend, I
spotted an American White Pelican on the river. I had hoped to
photograph it but some kayakers scared it off. Then I watched a female
Common Merganser and her four 1/3 grown chicks making their way down
the shore of an island. The mother led the way and, when she would
dive, the four young would dive virtually in unison with her.
Eventually they reached the upstream end of the island, and the mother
ventured further upstream in the strong current. The young struggled
to keep up and, when they reached her, they all tried to climb up on
her back for a ride. They were big enough that only one could sit
comfortably while the rest scrambled to climb aboard. It was hilarious
to watch!

Lee Rentz
Shelton WA
leerentz at ix.netcom.com