These birds will be moving on soon. I expect I won’t see pine grosbeaks in another 2 to 4 weeks when they start moving north and/or to higher elevations. This male had an interesting yellow patch on his cheek which I thought made his coloration even more beautiful. Pine grosbeaks are about the size of a robin and can be found to the far north or, in the Rocky Mountains, in high elevation habitat.

It was about a year ago when I was able to capture an image of a Mountain Chickadee with a snowflake on it’s forehead. Yesterday morning there were big soft snowflakes occasionally falling and somehow this chickadee had one on it’s chin. Above is the original image, below is a heavy crop to better show the snowflake.

Common Redpolls are birds that spend most of the year in the far north, ranging all the way up to the artic. Every few years during the winter, they work their way south and some times come as far south as the northern US. On Christmas day this red-capped northern visitor showed up and shortly after 3 more came as well. They’ve been here since Christmas though should soon start moving back north. I always feels its a special privilege when a unique species such as this shows up and poses for my camera.

Otters are probably one of the most fun animals to watch in the wild. They certainly enjoy playing with each other. But they’re also pretty skilled hunters. I watched this otter go after the trout and then shortly come back up with it. Finding a nice log near the shore, it hauled out it’s prize and enjoyed a big trout meal.

I really try not to wish away time since it is all so precious but I have to admit, by this time of winter, my mind often starts to wander to spring and summer. Winter here can easily last five months or more and snow can fall any month of the year. I’ve enjoyed going back through some photos from warmer seasons such as this summer image from the Beartooth Highway.

Happy Valentines to everyone today. I hope everyone has a great day. This photo from a few years ago depicts a bonding moment between a mated pair of river otters. The third otter is one of their offspring.

This photo was taken in 2007 while I was on a hike. I had hiked several miles and stopped on a dilapidated old bridge to sit and eat some lunch. While sitting, I noticed this weasel pop up from the old wood and take a look at me. I had hiked out to this location to photograph wildflowers, so I had a 100mm macro lens with me. As the weasel popped up, I was able to grab a few shots. Eventually it grew bored of me and went back to doing what it must have been doing before I showed up which was hunting through the ruined bridge and creek banks for eggs in swallow nests.

Grizzly 399 is probably the best known bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem but in 2008 there was another grizzly sow that was undoubtedly the most well known bear. That year I photographed her and one of her cubs in May. This cub would also became extremely well known as well as she continues to raise cubs near the road. Female bears often use the roads and developed areas because it keeps their young away from the male bears. But this choice doesn’t come without risks as well.

With winter making a statement across not only Montana but much of the country, I thought I’d share one of my favorite winter bison photos from several years ago. This was taken in geyser basin near Old Faithful on a cold winter morning. The bison were moving through the steam of the thermal areas as the morning light hit them and it created some magical moments.

So this was actually a birding moment. A couple of springs ago, I was photographing a large flock of cedar waxwings as they fed in a cottonwood tree on the edge of a lake. As I knelt at the water’s edge with the lake behind me and facing the tree, I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. This beaver was swimming by about ten feet away. He or she was on a mission but I was able to get a couple of photos, including this one, as it went by.