Bluebird

I watched this bluebird making repeated trips in and out of a man-made birdhouse.  A closer look at the photo revealed food in her beak, and the chirping of her baby chicks could be heard from inside the nest.

 

 

Eye of the Pyramid

Located in the northeastern sector of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Beartooth mountain range contains the highest peaks in Montana with more than twenty summits soaring to over 12,000 feet elevation.

Pyramid Mountain is a ‘twelver located on the Fishtail Plateau where the images in this feature were captured.  From its distant vantage on the range’s northern fringe, the south-facing views from Pyramid’s slopes offer a unique panorama containing almost all of the range’s highest points, including Montana’s tallest mountain, 12,799-foot Granite Peak.

Click on the image for an expanded view of the Beartooth Range.

Getting to this location is no easy task.  Having climbed most of the peaks pictured in these images myself, I’d have to say that Pyramid was one of the most strenuous I’ve attempted.  This experts-only, off-trail route gains an incredibly steep 6,000 feet elevation over four miles of arduous boulder scrambling and wilderness bushwacking.  Four miles may not sound like a long hike, but the difficult terrain makes it an all-day (or two-day) adventure with no bailout if something goes wrong.  Use extra caution if you go.

Looking across the West Rosebud drainage toward Granite Peak

 

Dramatic clouds form a sunset backdrop over the Rocky Mountain Front near Choteau, Montana.  Here, Montana’s vast grassland prairies meet the mountains in a dramatic geologic uplift along the Lewis Overthrust.  The Rocky Mountain Front is one of the most productive wildlife habitat areas in the Lower 48, providing exceptional habitat for grizzly bears, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, wolves, wolverines, lynx, and an incredible diversity of other species, both fauna and flora.

 

Sandhill Crane

 

This sandhill crane sighting was one of the highlights of a recent fun outing in Yellowstone National Park.

These graceful, long-legged cranes may stand over four feet in height, and can often be found sauntering through fields in search of food near shallow marshes.  Coloration is technically pale gray, but they often have a rust color from preening themselves with muddy bills.  A red head crest along with an unforgettable mating call makes them easily identifiable.

 

Meadowlark

My grandfather was a farmer who used to get up early to irrigate in his field, and when he’d come in for breakfast he’d talk about the meadowlarks and red-wing blackbirds he’d seen. Their song reminds me of him when I hear them singing in the Springtime.