Just a Little Different

 As close as we are to Yellowstone in air miles, there are major differences in the local ecosystems of the two locations. That means, among other things, differences in the bird life.

Today I am posting photos of four bird species I don't often see in this area.

First up, to the left, is a pair of Common Goldeneye. Strangely enough, it is somewhat unusual to see Common's in the park as the Barrow's Goldeneye are the usual residents. These are two females hanging out in the Firehole River.

 Next up is one of my favorite rarely seen birds. The Red Crossbill is well adapted to cracking pine cones with his strange looking beak. Its certainly not hard to figure out how they got their name!

(I always assume people know how to see these photos at a slightly bigger size but just in case that is not true, just click once on the photo and it will pull up the shots in a separate window on top of the blog space. When you want to go back to the blog just click outside the photo or use your back button. )

 I have to thank Ken for this third sighting. Wilson's Snipe are so well camouflaged that they are difficult to spot at the best of times. Somehow Ken caught a bit of movement along the bank of the Firehole and pointed it out to me. I took numerous shots of this guy and he is hard to see in all of them!

The last photo is of one of the iconic bird species of Yellowstone Park - Trumpeter Swans. It is always a treat to see these large, relatively rare beauties!