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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Yellowstone: Elk Watching

On Yellowstone's West Entrance Road, the evening of September 21st, we stopped in an area where we'd often seen elk before. We saw a few females on the left side of the river pictured below. Then, far off in the distance, a large bull elk emerged from trees on the right side of the river.
 
As we watched, the bull grazed his way toward the females on the other side of the river. He eventually crossed the river, showed his authority over the females, then crossed back to the other side alone. All of this was accompanied with bugling and tearing up the earth with his antlers. We couldn't have asked for a better show...unless the action might have included a battle between bulls.
 
I include this picture to show the scene of the action, as well as the reflections in the water.







Here, you can see some of the grass hanging off his antlers.

 Following are a few non-elk photos that I captured during slow times in the elk action:
 
A young Great Blue Heron

Possibly the same heron, flying low over the water.

The family belonging to this Sheltie were also watching the elk and the heron.

This rather lengthy post will wrap up our time in Yellowstone for this visit. However, there is much more to come from our 2013 western trip.

Thanks to Hilary at The Smitten Image for including this post as a Post of the Week.




24 comments:

  1. Looking forward to your new images, and I have enjoyed these posts of the Yellowstone visit very much!

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  2. Great Yellowstone wrap post! I had to chuckle over the elk just makin' sure all the females remembered who is boss. They are beautiful animals. Love the birds pics and Sheltie, too.

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  3. I enjoyed looking over your shoulder Linda. Your photos of Yellowstone are beautiful. My thanks for sharing :)

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  4. What a great discovery, nice to hear that elk. There is a herd near me, they are for the meat.

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  5. What? Love 'em and Leave 'em? The nerve of that Bull Elk. LOL. Great photos, Linda. I always look forward to visiting your blog and seeing your beautiful photography.

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  6. You got some great photos of the bull elk. I've enjoyed your report on this trip to Yellowstone, but it makes me want to get back there soon.

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  7. oh my gosh!!! that shot of him crossing the river with perfect reflections of him and the gnarled stump - you caught the splash of his front hoof hitting water. PERFECT shot!!! love it! how awesome!

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  8. Ahhhh---love seeing Yellowstone and the elk… That's a BIG bull you all saw!!!!! Great set of photos, Linda.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  9. amazing creatures aren't they? i found them very huge. i knew they would be ... but to see them so close to your car, up close & personal ... very shocking. ( :

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  10. WOW! Watching the Elk would be such a thrill and then you also got some amazing pictures. I love the Elk in the water,with the reflections.BEAUTIFUL!

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  11. Those elk are magnificent. Isn't it wonderful that they have sanctuary in this incredible park?

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  12. Wow, you really got some fantastic captures there! The reflection shots are my faves. So much drama during rutting season. Lucky you!!

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  13. Linda, I love these photos! The elk are amazing! I don't ever come across this, so thank you so much for sharing it!

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  14. Hi Linda! Those photos of the elk look so professional, like National Geographic or something. Wow. The water is so still, the reflections are great too.
    Cute dog! What a difference between those huge elk and the dog :)
    I know you are not done yet, I just didn't know how much went before!
    Happy Wednesday,
    Ceil

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  15. Such incredible creatures and fine captures, Linda. I have only ever seen one elk and that was a month ago on my way up here. It was in a farmer's field dining with cattle. ;)

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  16. Nice. You got some pretty good shots. Thank you for posting.

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  17. Hi Linda - I'm following up on your comment about the Ornaments. The baby to the right of Cole's ornament is our granddaughter in Alaska. It was her first Christmas. She's now two and a half years old. My brother does farm/ranch in this area, but the horses are not his. I did a comment on that same post and left this same info, but I wasn't sure if you go back and check the comments section again. I'll always leave a follow-up comment there if I'm asked a question. Happy Thursday!

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  18. wow the elk shots are amazing...something i dont get to see around here....the rack on the bull is amazing....

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  19. and congrats on the potw over at hilary's

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  20. had to come back to say congrats on your POTW!!! well-deserved!!!! (applause, applause) :)

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  21. POTW!!! YAY!! So happy to see this post there. Big congrats, Linda!!

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  22. Magnificent, so beautiful! congratulations on your POTW!

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  23. Congrats on your POTW...these are beautifully composed photos.

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