Friday May 18th
Melinda arrived from Texas on Thursday the 17th. Hooray! Let the fun begin. The three of us (Melinda, Jenny, Shanna) birded our way North to Yellowstone on Friday. Our first detour near Ashton on Flagg Ranch Road was blocked by a barricade closing the road. A detour meandered us over to Warm River, Mesa Falls, and back out on Hwy 20 in Island Park. We did the traditional touristy thing of going in the West Entrance and over to Old Faithful and back to West where we spent the night.
View of the Tetons from Flagg Ranch Rd
Townsend’s solitaire 
Gregory, our trip mascot
Mesa Falls 
Gregory and Shanna looking out at Mesa Falls
Flock of Brewer’s blackbirds in Island Park 
Posing for his closeup (Brewer’s blackbird)
Violet green swallow 
Ring necked ducks 
Cinnamon teal
Yellow rumped warbler 
And now we’re in the park with the BISON! Notice how much better this one looks compared to the photos of the bison taken in April.
Drifts of yellow monkey flowers
Birds:
1 European starling
2 American robin
3 American crow
4 Rock dove
5 Red tailed hawk
6 Short eared owl
7 Northern harrier
8 Great blue heron
9 Black billed magpies
10 Osprey
11 Canada geese
12 Common raven
13 American kestrel
14 Turkey vulture
15 Mourning dove
16 Townsend’s soltaire
17 Dark eyed junco (oregon)
18 Western meadowlark
19 Brewer’s blackbird
20 Blue grosbeak (female)
21 Barn swallows
22 Mallard
23 Cliff swallows
24 Yellow warblers
25 Chipping sparrows
26 Macgillivary’s warbler
27 Bald eagle
28 Brown headed cowbirds
29 Violet green swallows
30 Ring necked ducks
31 Cinnamon teals
32 Tree swallows
33 Yellow rumped warblers
34 Cassin’s finch
35 Red winged blackbird
36 Brown headed cowbirds
Mammals:
1 Plains bison
2 Pica
So much fun!! — Jenny
