Tour January 17-22, 2017
T0rn between watching coyotes and taking photos of sunset - Sometimes coyotes are more interesting.
The first 2016 Photography Edition of National Geographic Expeditions Winter Wildlife In Yellowstone tour went exceedingly well. Having learned a lot from our two pilot trips in 2015 this season's version sports a smaller group size and a more flexible itinerary enabling us to take advantage of sunsets, sunrises, weather conditions and unpredictable wildlife movements.
Bobcat along the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park.
Finding wildlife close enough to photograph is always a roll-of-the-dice proposition. This trip was unlucky for wolves as we saw none at all. However, bison, bighorn sheep, elk, pronghorn, coyotes, red fox and even bobcat made our list of photographable wildlife. Our bird list included trumpeter swan, great blue heron, red grosbeak, mountain chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, Clark's nutcracker and, of course, ravens and bald eagles.
Yellowstone doesn't lack scenery either.
These photography tours are turning out to be quite popular as all three of this season's tours are completely full. Registration has begun for the 2016-2017 winter season and a fourth photography departure has been added. The calendar looks like this:
It may be some time before I know exactly what tours I'll be leading but I'll be asking for several of the departures numbered 6 through 11 in case you'd like the chance to join me.
My next NGE Photo Expedition of Yellowstone departs on February 7, 2016 and I'll blog a post-trip report soon after. Until then please leave a comment below telling me what you think.
Cheers and Happy Travels
Kurt