Fall trees ablaze with color

     In between cold fronts I went out Saturday morning to enjoy the bright sunny day and brilliant trees.  Conifers become darker green, and Aspens light up the forest in yellow.  (sometimes orange).  American Goldfinches are migrating in flocks. They are the color of dying Aspen leaves, no longer matching the yellow flickering leaves.
     A week and a half ago I hiked to Taggart and Bradley Lakes.  What a pretty day !  A Belted Kingfisher and 3 Common Mergansers were fishing in the lake. 
     Willow Flats and the meadows are shades of yellow, rusty brown, and orange.  Elk have been bugling their mating calls across the fields at night and early morning.

 This young male Mule Deer stopped to look at me as I walked along a creek.

Grand Teton at sunrise from the balcony of the registration building.

I took the Tram up to Rendezvous Peak, at 10,927 feet, and hiked around below the summit.  Surprisingly a few flowers are still blooming (on the south slope).  Grey Jays and Mountain Bluebirds were fun to watch.

Oh no, Fall

The glorious summer in the mountains is no more.  Wildflowers are mostly faded and gone to seed. Asters, Yarrow, and the little Mountain Sunflower persist.  Nights are much cooler.  I had the window open in the room for nearly 3 months.  Vireos, Tanagers, and most of the Swallows have departed for warmer places and more insects to eat.
    This photo from Lupine Meadows road, an Aspen has turned yellow ahead of the other trees.

Fireweed stalk with red leaves, willows, and alder sapling.

Geranium leaves turn red before other foliage. Trailsides have been so green with abundant plants.
    I carried the 'scope down the trail to Christian Pond to study ducks.  Ugh, all in eclipse plumage.  Coot families were swimming together, a few Wigeons, Gadwalls, and others I did not figure out.

Hiking the Canyons

      Garnet Canyon, Paintbrush Canyon, and Hanging Canyon have all been beautiful in the past few weeks.  The trail up Hanging Canyon is a steep informal trail not listed on the maps at all. It must be a climbers access trail because I found it accidentally while chasing a woodpecker earlier in the season.
     Wild flowers have been spectacular.  Paintbrush in many colors, Bluebells, Sunflowers, Columbine, Penstemon, Monkeyflowers, Buckwheat is still blooming, Asters, Spirea, Red Heather, Monkshood, and more.
      This photo is Middle Teton from Surprise Lake.

Surprise Lake is one of those beautiful alpine lakes at the top of Garnet Canyon.

The trail is pretty also.

Snow melt cascades down each mountainside.

Teewinot and snow fields feeding the waterfalls and cascades.

Paddling around

     Dolphin and I have been out on 5 lakes so far.  Earlier in the season I was seeing female ducks leading broods of ducklings, spooking Great Blue Herons, and watching tiny fish swimming in the clear water. 
    This photo was taken during a short portage between bays.  I paddled south from Colter Bay boat ramp across 3 small bays  and around 2 little islands.  Water levels are dropping in Jackson Lake, as the Idaho potato farmers take their 38 feet of the lake.

String Lake is a narrow lake that empties into Jenny Lake.  I paddled north along its length to the take-out site and dragged Dolphin up the muddy bank.  The trail to Leigh Lake is short and ends at this  "staircase."  I watched a man position his plastic kayak, sit inside it, and slide bump, bump, bump down the ramp to splash into the water.  I did not do that !!

Leigh Lake is larger and has a few boat-in campsites on the shore.  I came around a corner and the wind was suddenly very strong.  I took a quick photo and turned around to return the portage.  String Lake is much more sheltered from the wind.

Oxbow Lake is a wonderful marsh to paddle around in.  Female ducks hide their ducklings in the willows.  I came around a corner and found a much larger youngster,  a baby Moose.  I was quiet and did not disturb mama Moose resting in the willows nearby.  The baby Moose looked at me and sat down in the grass.  It probably thought I was a big blue whale.

Fledglings abound

     Every morning now I take my binoculars with me for the walk to breakfast.  Fledgling birds are hopping about everywhere.  The wooden fence that separates the employee area from the campground is a favorite perching location.  I have a list of 15 species of juveniles seen here in the past 10 days.  Western Tanagers have been successful,  Robins have their spotted breasts, White crowned Sparrow babies flit in the Fir branches, Juncos, Kinglets, a Red-naped Sapsucker young one in an Aspen tree, and a Brewer's Blackbird little one in the parking lot looking lost. It could fly but did not know where to find breakfast.
      The grey and yellow fluffy Tanager juvenile likes the trees near the parking lot.  Twice I have seen mama Tanager feed it Honeysuckle berries.  Dad Tanager, once a brilliant yellow, is molting into a dull yellow with a less bright red head.  They have been singing/ calling all summer.
     Despite the efforts of the Maintenance team, both Barn and Tree Swallows have been successful in raising young.  The swallows had to select odd locations behind the buildings out of sight of park visitors for nesting.  I opened the back door of the store last night and was met with a flurry of chittering and swooping from the Barn Swallow family.
     The Hairy Woodpecker fledgling knew to hit the tree trunk with its bill, but was still following the adult around making little almost-woodpecker sounds.
     I was surprised the Pine Siskins already had their yellow wing edges and tail edges.

     Photos of Common Merganser family I found on String Lake while paddling my kayak.





The same family sitting on a large rock.

I have seen an American Wigeon female with ducklings, Coots with little ones, and the Barrow's Goldeneye photos were included in a previous posting.

Flat Creek runs through the Elk Refuge north of Jackson.  I have stopped at the viewpoint many times to see ducks and other birds.  A week ago the Trumpeter Swans had their family out for all the visitors to see.

Rainbow of Flowers

      While some flowers are at their peak in July, others have faded into mid-summer.  The bright yellow bunches of Arrowleaf Balsamroot have gone to seed and their leaves are drying.  Scarlet Gilia is less abundant  in the lower valley than it was, and Penstemon has also dropped its petals in favor of maturing seeds.  Mountain Hollyhocks bloom in pink on a tall stalk.  Its always a surprise to see them.

    Across the rainbow:

   
Red Paintbrush with Lewis's Monkeyflower near Jenny Lake.









Orange Paintbrush as well:

A bright yellow Dalmation Toadflax growing along the road.

Blue Penstemon has been beautiful.   I hiked Cascade Canyon 2 weeks ago and heard many bird songs.  This is the season for raising nestlings, adults are busy foraging.











Deer will eat the Lupine.  I have seen the older bucks growing magnificent antlers still in velvet,

Celebration of Birds

     Back in May I was happy to see (and photograph) one male Barrow's Goldeneye.  Last month I saw a raft of them in Yellowstone Lake.  Schwabacher's Landing finally opened in early July and I was able to take a morning walk along the back channels of the Snake River.  Barrow's Goldeneye females were leading groups of young ducklings swimming across the channel.
    One afternoon in late June, I was walking along the south end of Jenny Lake listening to birds singing.  Warbling Vireos were adding to the chorus.  I found this female sitting on her nest in an Aspen tree.

   






 Two weeks ago I was wandering in the forest north of Phelps Lake looking for Woodpeckers.  I found this Chickadee nest cavity when a parent Chickadee zipped past my head and into the hole.

     Eastern Kingbirds prefer more open country.  I was outside the Park when I found this good looking bird swooping after insects.

 

   A litter of Coyote pups was born under one of the old buildings in the Mormon Row area. They happened to be out in the sunshine the morning I came by.  Cliff Swallows were nesting on an adjacent building and Vesper Sparrows sang from the sagebrush across the street.