Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The iconic bald eagle is a large raptor, with a
wingspan up to 8ft, brown plumage and a dis-
tinctive 'bald' white head. Bald eagle pairs
mate for life, building their nest close to water.
Nests grow with each breeding season to be-
come truly massive structures up to 12ft in dia-
meter. The bald eagle takes fish (or harasses an
osprey until it drops its catch), but also preys
on other birds or smaller mammals. Nesting
eagles are extremely sensitive to human disturbance.
The true 'King of the Rockies,' the gracious golden eagle is sometimes spotted riding
thermals high above craggy ridges. Native Americans fashioned headdresses from its
golden-brown plumage. Marginally smaller but heavier than the bald eagle, they typically
nest on rocky cliff ledges and can easily spot potential prey and predators. With a varied
diet, it will swoop down on anything from fish and rodents to deer fawns.
The great horned owl is mottled gray-brown with prominent, 'horned' ear tufts, a white
throat and a deep, resonant hoot. Its camouflage is so effective that few hikers even notice
its presence. Asleep during the day, it preys on nocturnal rodents but also feasts on grouse
and other birds.
The fish-eating osprey haunts larger lakes and rivers, nesting in shoreline treetops. Its
upper wings and body are dark brown, and its underside is white and speckled on the out-
er wings. This well-adapted hunter has efficient water-shedding feathers and clamplike
feet with two pairs of opposing toes to better grasp slippery, wriggling fish.
WOLF PACKS
Learn more about wolves and advocacy at
www.wolfwatcher.org
. Kids can track the activities
of individual wolves or wolf packs via
Waterfowl
A vast number of waterfowl visit the many lakes, marshes and rivers of Greater Yellow-
stone, but coots, cranes, gulls and some ducks stay to nest.
North America's largest wild fowl, the spectacular trumpeter swan, is hardy enough to
winter here in the Henry's Fork and Red Rock Lakes region west of the park. In 1932 only
69 swans remained alive in the Lower 48 states, all of them in Greater Yellowstone. Since
then numbers have climbed to around 2500, but are declining again. It has proven difficult
to wean them from winter feeding to find their own wild foods, and cantankerous Canadi-
an trumpeter populations continue to crowd them out.
Long-legged great blue herons and red-capped sandhill cranes may be seen striding
gracefully in wet meadows and along the edges of water, where they use their long bills to
capture fish, snakes, frogs and rodents. In the fall and spring, cranes gather into large
noisy flocks.
