Another course group and good times seeing bears and other wildlife. The phone rings. We pile in the van, drive to the spot, and see what we see. Twice the calls were about 15-year-old Lily and her three cubs, but by the time we arrived we glimpsed no more than silhouettes of Lily leaving through the trees with her three cubs in tow. 
BowThen the call was about 35-year-old Shadow and a brief look at her whitish face before she drifted off into the woods as her 16-year-old granddaughter Bow arrived with her two cubs. Bow is a good mother and her cubs look extra big for this time of year.
Shadow
As always, it is exciting to see One-eyed Jack and the others. Yearling Desi is turning out to be a favorite.
We did the pontoon ride this morning in case it rained later, which it did. The eaglet has now departed from the nest tree. The loon chicks are losing their initial fuzzy feathers and showing juvenile plumage on their faces. The rides are always enjoyable. Today the herring gulls that catch bologna in mid-air at the WRI were resting lined up on a branch beside the lake. The white water lily and the placid mallard mother with her duckling looked too good to pass up clicking as we drifted by.
Loon chick
 White water lily |
 Mallards |
Looking forward to the next couple days with the group.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute