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Photo Forum / Photo Technique / Nature Photography / March 2004Top 10 National Parks for Wildlife (US)
This group has been pretty slow, so how about some discussion? I just saw a Travel Channel show called: Top 10 National Parks for Wildlife The U.S. list is: 1) Grand Teton, Wyoming 2) Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska 3) Yellowstone, Wyoming 4) Channel Islands, Calif. 5) Denali, Alaska 6) Glacier Bay, Alaska 7) Everglades, Florida 8) Isle Royale (in Lake Superior) 9) Olympic, Washington 10) Glacier, Montana I've been to most, but not Channel Islands, or Isle Royale, and at Glacier Bay all I saw were some seagulls. Can anyone shed light on these? Do you agree, or would you change the list? If so, how, and why? Roger (perhaps we should start an international list too.) >From: "Roger N. Clark >This group has been pretty slow, so how about some discussion? Hi Roger, Out stirring up trouble again I see? :) >Top 10 National Parks for Wildlife I've been to a few of these and would rank them in this order, for big game animals anyway ... >3) Yellowstone, Wyoming (moose, wolves, bears, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, elk, bison, deer ... be still my heart) >5) Denali, Alaska (bigger moose, wolves, more bears, Dall sheep, caribou ... fantastic mountain and tundra scenery in early fall too, which is when I always go ... I love it) >2) Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska (great for brown bears, a few moose, some birds ... Roger and I are flying in to a remote area of Katmai on a custom bear photography trip with the guide Tom Mangelsen uses this fall, right Roger? ... I love this place too, it's very intense when a 600 pound bear approaches within 20 ft and checks you out closely ... http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/yogi.jpg ) >10) Glacier, Montana (mountain goats, bears, bighorn sheep ... beautiful mountain scenery, haven't been there as much though) Comments on others I've been to that didn't impress me as much for big game as those listed above ... >1) Grand Teton, Wyoming (hard to see how it's # 1, all I ever see there is a few moose and tons of elk in the winter. Yellowstone and Denali were MUCH better for variety and numbers ... great mountain scenery for landscapes though) >7) Everglades, Florida (great for birds, but pretty hard to see big game, all I've seen is a few of the small whitetails ... but # 1 on this list for birds) >9) Olympic, Washington (only saw a few deer here ... great scenery and wildflowers but I haven't been there often though). Haven't been to the rest of the places. Bill >>3) Yellowstone, Wyoming (moose, wolves, bears, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, elk, >bison, deer ... be still my heart) Any comments on when might be a good time to go to Yellowstone? I'm thinking of early September, after Labor Day, when the kids are back in school and there should be fewer visitors. But how is it for wildlife photography in early to mid September? And where in the park would be best at that time? Thanks. >From: Tim Smith tssmith@sonic.net >Any comments on when might be a good time to go to Yellowstone? I'm >thinking of early September, after Labor Day, when the kids are back >in school and there should be fewer visitors. > >But how is it for wildlife photography in early to mid September? I worked in Yellowstone a couple of summers while in college and have visited many times since ... for wildlife photography I always felt the last three weeks of Sept were ideal since the antlered game (elk, deer, moose) have fully developed antlers and the bull elk will start gathering herds of cows and fighting amongst each other as the rut starts, maybe the third week of Sept or so. The moose rut is a bit later but the bulls will be shedding the velvet from their antlers this time of year too and you might see a moose fight if lucky. All the animals will be fat and in good shape with winter coats, unlike the shaggy, ragged look in the spring when they're shedding. And the bison will start moving from the high plateaus down to the areas closer to the road so you'll probably see a lot more bison than in mid-summer. Plus the fishing is excellent, especially on the Madison and Firehole where the large brown trout come upstream from the lake to spawn. Sept is a great time, especially if you get Indian summer weather. >And where in the park would be best at that time? Try Hayden Valley early and late (which is nice for photography because it's very open) and the loop roads from Canyon all the way over to Old Faithful or Norris or maybe Lamar Valley ... elk are pretty much everywhere this time of year, you almost have to shoo them out of the way to get into the visitor center at Mammoth at times and you should see them between West Yellowstone and the first junction too along the river. Bill The Haydon Valley road is to be under construction in the summer of 2004, and the Lamar Valley road is to be closed. See http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/orientation/travel/roadclos.htm for more info. The West side of the park looks better to me for this summer. Lew > >From: Tim Smith tssmith@sonic.net > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Bill >>From: Tim Smith tssmith@sonic.net > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >>But how is it for wildlife photography in early to mid September? I agree with Bill. September is real nice. Cooler weather, few crowds, fall colors, and lots of active animals. But weather can be iffy and snow, so be prepared. I've been there a few times in September, sometimes real late September, as well as early September. Great photo ops, wildlife as well as scenery. Some mornings a ground fog rises from the streams and rivers. With a big animal on the mist, it can be stunning. Roger > >>3) Yellowstone, Wyoming (moose, wolves, bears, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, elk, > >bison, deer ... be still my heart) [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > But how is it for wildlife photography in early to mid September? And > where in the park would be best at that time? Thanks. Late September would be better, you'll be able to get high color in Grand Teton as well. I normally go the last weekend in September or first in October. There are *far* fewer Winnebagos this time of year. Just about everybody you see will have a camera or an easel :-) The animals seem less skittish to me this time of year, probably because there are far fewer Winnebagos :-)  SignatureAngela M. Cable Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source: http://www.neocognition.com/ PSP Tutorial Links: http://www.psplinks.com/ 5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and more: http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/ >>1) Grand Teton, Wyoming (hard to see how it's # 1, all I ever see there is a > > few moose and tons of elk in the winter. Yellowstone and Denali were MUCH > better for variety and numbers ... great mountain scenery for landscapes > though) Well, Bill, I have to disagree with you one this one. Maybe its my preference for mountain scenery, but I believe there is as much wildlife per square mile as Yellowstone. Summer: I've photographed moose, elk, bison, coyote, and lots of birds (eagles, hawks, great blue herons), just like Yellowstone but with Mtn scenery (seems like more birds in the Tetons than Yellowstone). This summer I got great blue herons and a variety of other birds on 4x5 with great mountain scenery to boot (I gotta get a new scanner for this one so it's not on my website yet). Eagles fishing. There are lots of bears too. More moose in the Tetons than Yellowstone. Wolves are now in the park too. My experience in Denali is one trip, but the animals all seemed distant. I think one needs to stay at the lodge at the end of the road. I find Colorado better for bighorn and mtn goats than any place I've been to in Wyoming. >>9) Olympic, Washington (only saw a few deer here ... great scenery and > > wildflowers but I haven't been there often though). I've been here a lot but never saw much wildlife either. Roger > I find Colorado better for bighorn and mtn goats than any place I've been to > in Wyoming. If you want bighorn, there's a great little state park in Utah, Sheep Creek Canyon. I've seen sheep every time I've been there, don't even have to actually get out of the car if you don't want to. I'm not sure how to get there from the south, I live in Rock Springs, WY. To get there from here, I go I80 to Green River then straight shot on WY530 to Manila, UT. Take a left at Manila, I don't remember the road designation there, it's the only state highway that goes that way though. The turnoff to it is on the right. Now, it really is a canyon, and that's where you'll find the sheep, so light is an issue, you might want to bring faster film than what you normally shoot. SignatureAngela M. Cable Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source: http://www.neocognition.com/ PSP Tutorial Links: http://www.psplinks.com/ 5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and more: http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/ >I find Colorado better for bighorn and mtn goats than any place I've been to >in Wyoming. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Roger I'll be going to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado this summer. Any particular places to see Big Horn sheep? Olympic is a beautiful place, but there isn't much wildlife there, at least of the big variety. Deer, marmots, pika, and birds. Richard Navarrete RichardN22@aol.com Astrophotography Web Page - http://members.aol.com/richardn22 > I'll be going to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado this summer. Any > particular places to see Big Horn sheep? > Richard Navarrete > RichardN22@aol.com > Astrophotography Web Page - http://members.aol.com/richardn22 Yes, but not RMNP! In Rocky, the area the bighorn hang out is the north loop road out of Estes, highway 34. But the park service blocks off the road when the bighorn are visible and you can't get close. So you must go to "wilder" places in the rockies. Nice astrophotos! Roger My web pages have some Colorado bighorn: http://www.clarkvision.com >Yes, but not RMNP! In Rocky, the area the bighorn hang out >is the north loop road out of Estes, highway 34. But the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >My web pages have some Colorado bighorn: >http://www.clarkvision.com Thanks for the info, Roger. We had great views of the sheep in Glacier about 10 years ago. Too bad they restrict access on RMNP. Still, I'll go look anyway! :-) Glad you liked the astrophotos. Richard Navarrete RichardN22@aol.com Astrophotography Web Page - http://members.aol.com/richardn22 >From: "Roger N. Clark > >My experience in Denali is one trip, but the animals all seemed distant. >I think one needs to stay at the lodge at the end of the road. Hi Roger, Denali can be tough because of the weather (most days you can't see the big mountain, and it gets it's fair share of rain) and access is difficult since you can't drive past mile 14 without a special pro photographer permit, so you have to take the bus. But if you're willing to camp out either at the developed campgrounds or in the backcountry and if the light is right and if the animals are willing (I know, a lot of "ifs") it can be incredible. I have friends who go there pretty much every fall and if they get 5 good shots they feel it's worth the hassles. We just get off the bus when we see something we like (something most people never do, especially once they see their first roadside grizzly bear) and catch another bus later. Here's a few of Carol and my shots from Denali, taken on only three trips ... the site isn't finished but you can move around the 16 images in this Gallery ... click "This Gallery" to see the other thumbs, click a thumb to see a bigger image ... 10 of these were shot in Denali, five accessed from shuttle busses (or in one case - Griz in Blueberries - shot from a bus window) and five when I rode a mountain bike so I could stay out until dark when staying at a lodge near the end of the road (3 other bear shots taken at Katmai, 2 sheep and one ptarmigan shot in Canada) ... http://members.aol.com/marlinazul/gallery/image_pages/alaska/i_caribou_cou ntry.htm It's a tough place but definitely worth the effort to me. I really like shooting the tundra for those few days when the colors peak too ... Bill > Hi Roger, > > Denali can be tough because of the weather (most days you can't see the big > mountain, and it gets it's fair share of rain) and access is difficult since > you can't drive past mile 14 without a special pro photographer permit, so you > have to take the bus. It seems like fall is the ideal time for Denali too, like Yellowstone. I was there at the end of July. It was so crowded, if you got off the bus, it wasn't clear if you would every get on another one. I assume in fall, there are less people so this is not a problem. So it's pretty clear: summer wildflowers in the rockies, fall in Alaska, Yellowstone, Colorado, winter: birds in the south like Florida, Bosque. Spring on the Colorado Plateau. I'm going to have to quit my day job! Beautiful Alaska images, Bill. How hard is it to get a "pro photographer" permit to Denali in the fall? Roger > But if you're willing to camp out either at the developed campgrounds or in the > backcountry and if the light is right and if the animals are willing (I know, a [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Bill >From: "Roger N. Clark >How hard is it to get a "pro photographer" permit to Denali in the fall? To qualify as a "pro" you need to publish a certain number of images (not a very high number) in major magazines or newspapers with circulations above some preset figure ... the details seem to change every couple of years. Once you prove you're a pro you get to draw for the days you want ... Lennie Lee Rue had this permit for the first week in Sept when I was there two years ago and told me he'd been drawing for it unsuccessfully for 18 years in a row :) So it's pretty long odds even for guys like him, but worth it when/if you get it. I think in recent years they cut back from 10 per week to 5 per week and that makes it even tougher. >It seems like fall is the ideal time for Denali too, like Yellowstone. "Fall" in Denali is about August 25-Sept 15 or so, then it's winter :) Or so it seems ... so you can hit Denali in peak and then still hit Yellowstone for elk etc or Colorado for fall aspen colors since Denali happens so early in the month. If you're in Alaska a week or so before the Katmai bear trip you might give it a try, that's the right time for colors (the last few days of August is often the absolute best, that's when I got the tundra color shots on the site I posted). We can talk about it off-line, but Perry has camping sites for those dates just before the bear trip and Carol and I will be at the Lepp workshop near Wonder Lake the same time so we could meet up at Eielson or something. >I was there at the end of July. I was there once in late June, it wasn't much fun then either and we saw very little game because of the heat and 22 hour daylight. Plus mosquitos like I've never seen before, even in Florida. Fall is a lot better since stuff is moving around, fattening up for winter or starting to gather for the rut, and few bugs. And Mt. McKinley is visible a lot more often with cooler air moving in. >It was so crowded, if you got off the >bus, it wasn't clear if you would every get on another one. I assume in >fall, there are less people so this is not a problem. They just cut back the number of busses so it's still pretty crowded even in the fall, but not as bad as summer. You might have to wait for 3-4 busses but you can always get one, eventually :) There's a late camper bus that picks up the last strays each day, that one always seems to have room, but I think it doesn't get back to the visitor center until around 10 PM. It's a hassle, but worth it, to me at least. Bill > It seems like fall is the ideal time for Denali too, like Yellowstone. > I was there at the end of July. It was so crowded, if you got off the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Yellowstone, Colorado, winter: birds in the south like Florida, Bosque. > Spring on the Colorado Plateau. Thanks for the info. I was looking for somewhere to go in early July (no choice about dates). I already did Yellowstone/Grand Teton a couple of years back, and as advised here it wasn't great for wildlife and was far too crowded. GT was beautiful, though! I had thought of Alaska this summer since the dollar is so low. I'll give it a miss. Africa always has a strong call on my heart - and you could hardly limit 'Best African National Parks for Wildlife' to ten! :-) Tx Liz SignatureVirtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia "I speak of Africa and golden joys" > >1) Grand Teton, Wyoming (hard to see how it's # 1, all I ever see there is a > few moose and tons of elk in the winter. Yellowstone and Denali were MUCH > better for variety and numbers ... great mountain scenery for landscapes > though) You're forgetting about birds, if you get down around the Snake there's a large variety of waterfowl. A great blue heron just about gave me a heart attack last fall. He was standing perfectly still in some tall grass, didn't see him until I got too close for his comfort. Those wings make a lot of noise when you're that close, I just about fell over he gave me such a start :-) There's also a spot on the north end of Jackson before you get to GTNP. There's a little pullout/picnic area that sits next to the Nat'l Elk Refuge, right there is a marshy kind of pond. Sometimes you'll find swans in it, more usually, it's duck and geese. SignatureAngela M. Cable Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source: http://www.neocognition.com/ PSP Tutorial Links: http://www.psplinks.com/ 5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and more: http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/ Oh yeah! We had some GREAT views of beaver at the Tetons. There were a number of them slapping their tales on the other side of their dam, and then one came over the dam towards us and started eating. Must have been only 15 feet from us. Totally unafraid. Great day that was. Richard Navarrete RichardN22@aol.com Astrophotography Web Page - http://members.aol.com/richardn22 I have been to all except Channel Islands, Isle Royale, and Glacier Bay. My favorite for animals is Yellowstone. Lots of elk, bison, deer, coyote, and some bears and moose. The Brooks River in Katmai is the place to go for bears. So many, so big, so close. Glacier is great for mountain goats, but not much else. Denali is great for caribou, dall sheep, moose, and bears, but the bears were all distant when I was there. The bus trip is poor for photography. I have seen only a few animals in Grand Teton, so it drops near the bottom of my list. For International, Jasper National Park in Canada is my favorite. Lots of elk, big horn sheep, and mountain goats near the roads daily. Moose and bears sometimes. Mountain scenery is also great. Another Canadian favorite is Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. Lots of moose. I have not visited other countries, so my international list is short. I saw the last part of the Travel Channel show, and a trip to the Channel Islands is now in my hoped for future trips. On a different note, I stopped by Venice Rookery twice last week. Several Great Blue Herons in all stages. Some sitting on nest, some feeding furry heads, and one learning to fly. Several anhigna with young. Several great egrets, with two stealing nest material from an empty nest. A GBH objected to the stealing and gave a great show in chasing off one egret. Spent one day at Corkscrew Swamp Preserve, and a day and a half at Darling. Enjoyed them all, but high wind was a problem at times, and the time of month was bad for Darling. Not a low tide in the daylight; they only have one high and one low a day. With the high water, many birds stayed on the far shore and there were few waders. Best pictures were of swimming and flying pelicans, feeding redish egrets, and a tricolor heron. Lots of spoonbills, but all bunched up at more distance than I like. I stopped by the rookery going to and coming from Ft. Myers, so I can't help you on places to stay or eat near Venice. After leaving the rookery, I drove N on I75 to FL72, and E to US17. I was supprised at the numbers of wood storks and egrets along FL72. Most were just E of Myakka State Park. The storks were either in the ditch or just over a fence in pastures along the road. No storks at Darling. Lew > This group has been pretty slow, so how about some discussion? > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Roger > (perhaps we should start an international list too.) The list works if "wildlife" only means the few biggest mammals, and mostly terrestrial mammals at that, and the most obvious big birds. But it's borrrrrrrring in terms of biodiversity ("wild life"--two words) found in US national parks. Carl May I saw that program too. I was in the mood to go exploring after that and see what I could capture. > This group has been pretty slow, so how about some discussion? > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Roger > (perhaps we should start an international list too.) > 1) Grand Teton, Wyoming > 2) Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > and at Glacier Bay all I saw were some seagulls. > Can anyone shed light on these? I saw lots of marine wildlife (seals, whales, etc.) in Glacier bay, but not any large land animals. Most people see glacier bay in a giant cruise ship, which makes it hard to get close enough to see much on shore. The smaller boats are better, but I suspect if you really want to see things you need to camp and kayak. Scanning the responses this AM I still haven't seen anyone comment on Isle Royale or Channel Islands. I don't even know where Channel Islands is. Isle Royal is in Lake superior, and minimally developed and isolated, so it retains much more of the original wildlife of the northern woods than the surrounding ares of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, but I haven't been there to comment. I agree with those who like Glacier -- it's got a lot of animals, and one thing some of the others don't have -- a great trail system so you can get out there with them without a lot of bushwhacking, which is a challenge in the Alaskan parks. The Denali experience varies a lot. We've been 4 times. Camping is great if you can do it, but bring lots of DEET, and again the hiking is quite primitive and difficult in most of the park. We have been lucky enough to see bears, caribou, and moose practically try to climb in the windows of the busses, but some trips you just see distant brown blobs. Last time we went (2002) they told us that the bear numbers were down they think because weather had cut the number of berries available one summer and a lot hadn't been able to bulk up enough to survive winter. The Bison in Yellowstone are everywhere all summer. The crowds in Yellowstone can actually be an advantage because often you spot the "bear jam" before you spot the animal, though if you want good photos without tourists in them that means getting away from the roads to find the animals. I also agree with the poster who nominated Jasper as a great park in Canada for wildlife. It also has decent trails to access it. SignatureWarren Montgomery wamontgomery@att.net ( http://home.att.net/~wamontgomery ) > This group has been pretty slow, so how about some discussion? > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Roger > (perhaps we should start an international list too.) If you can at all get up into Jasper BC you can just about pet the elk. Huge bulls are just hanging out at the side of the road, the cows are literally walking around downtown. The moose keep more distance but I've seen people get very close (5 ft., not smart!) to fill the frame of their pocket point n shoot. I've mingled inside of elk herds and sat with a dozen or so montain goats, petting them (they feel like stone) and they like to try to lick the salt off of your hand so getting close is no problem. All the animals seem huge compared to their American counterparts. The ravens were as big as turkeys. Often I was too close for the lense. Mid to late Sept. is usually when I go. The landscape is very scenic as well. |
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