Summer Summary

I had absolutely no time to update this blog over the summer so I have decided to do a REAL quick summary of it . . .

Wolf Photo Expedition with David Moskowitz

After I volunteered my time to compile a bunch of data for his upcoming book, "Wolves of the Pacific Northwest," David Moskowitz invited me to spend a week with him looking for the Salmo pack in Eastern Washington. It was an invaluable experience for me, and I can't thank David enough.

In total, we probably spent over 30 hours in a blind waiting for a glimpse of one of the rare wolves of Washington State and these were some of the highlights:

- I managed to watch a wolf trot through my viewfinder without taking a single photo!
- Heard wolves howl.
- Found multiple moose carcasses that were probable wolf kills.
- Saw and photographed two black bears on separate occasions.
- I learned way more about tracking and wildlife photography than I ever could have hoped for.

Black bear scent marking in Eastern Washington.
Photo: Rob Nagel

Montana Wildlife Work and Yellowstone

I spent about four months total in Montana this summer and had some amazing adventures. For the Forest Service, I completed several wildlife surveys this summer including surveys for lynx, pika, peregrine falcons, northern goshawks, and harlequin ducks. I spent a close to 14 days in Yellowstone on my days off. These were some of the highlights:

- I saw 20 Grizzly bears and 17 black bears for a total of 39 bears this summer (including the two from Eastern Washington).
- Had close encounters with 2 moose, and 1 cougar while working.

- Saw 2 great grey owls on different occasions.

- Watched the Lamar Canyon wolf pack raise 5 pups
- Finally got close enough to capture decent photos of wolves.
- Watched 3 different badger dens.
- Saw 5 foxes (none of which occurred while there was any amount of photo shooting light).
- VISITED A WOLVERINE DEN!!!!!!!!!!

Great Grey Owl in Western Montana
Photo: Rob Nagel