Yellowstone Day 3...Birds, Babies, and Bears!

Spring is in the air here in Yellowstone and babies and running wild!  Today we saw  animal families of all types.  The first thing we saw this morning on our way to hike around Beaver Ponds was two mamma Elk with four babies who running like crazy around them.  Right after that we saw a deer nursing a small fawn...Amazing!  We spent the morning hiking and looking for other wildlife but besides a Blue Bird, a Western Tanager, which is a black and yellow bird with an orange head, and a couple of Elk.  We decided to drive along the same route that we went the first night to try to see some more animals and hit the wildlife jackpot....We saw huge herds of Bison with their young and at one point got a little too close for my comfort since I was out of the car taking pictures!  After that we ran into a woman who was watching two Grizzly Bears on ridge in the distance...She had a high powered scope and let us watch for a while though it.  So cool!  Later we saw another pair of Grizzly bears but as we got to a good spot to watch, they ambled into the woods.  There were quite a few other black bears around but the highlight of the day was toward the end when we saw a momma Black Bear and her two cubs.  She was eating and they were playing and climbing a tree nearby.
Other things we saw included a dead Bull Snake, a Sandhill Crane, and a black and white Magpie.  

Tonight we checked into the Yellowstone Overlook Campus and started our course with the other teachers from all over the country...It seems like a very interesting a diverse group and I am excited to get to know them all.

Tomorrow...Mammoth Hot Springs!