Category Archives: Wildlife

Hangin’ around the ice

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Geese are a year-round sight near the warmer waters of the Heskett Station power plant and the Tesoro oil refinery. For some reason they decided to snug up to this chunk of ice on the river this weekend. Perhaps the day was a little too balmy for them? I don’t know. I just think it’s amazing how birds can handle the cold, especially in the water. They’re pretty tough creatures!

Where the antelope play (deer had the day off)

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While four-wheeling around south of Underwood (for work, of course) we came upon a pretty large herd of antelope grazing in a field. We were very close and shot plenty of video and stills of the herd, which really didn’t seem to care that we were there.

We actually had to rev the diesel a little bit to spook ’em, so they would finally take off for some running shots. There were a few dozen of them, but I really didn’t want to take a wide enough shot to fit ’em all in. I size the pics down to 500 pixels wide for the blog, and you might not even be able to distinguish them from the surrounding grass at that size!

Phat pheasants

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I guess they must be eating well this winter, or their feathers are REALLY fluffed up to keep them warm, because lately the pheasants have looked like pumpkins with feathers! I’ve noticed a lot of portly, plump birds recently.

This particular fella and his friends were hanging out within 50 feet of the van as I loaded my video gear near Underwood yesterday. They didn’t seem too put out by the fact that some strange looking dude was working his way toward them with his camera, at least until I got pretty close. Then they simply sauntered off to the thick brush to hide out for a while.

Upon close observation, I think that the pheasant is quite possibly the stupidest of all feathered creatures, often nonchalantly walking toward speeding vehicles bearing down on them. At least they seem to be strong in number this winter, a fact I’m sure the hunters will be pleased about the next time hunting season comes around. Until then, people like me will hunt them with our telephoto lenses instead.

Oh, deer!

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With the recent snow and cold, the deer are out foraging wherever they can. They also stand out against the white terrain pretty well, too! As I took a little trip around town after work Monday night, I spotted deer all over the place without leaving city limits. First were these deer under the railroad bridge on the Mandan side of the river. There were plenty of them, just not all in the frame at the same time. They’re right in someone’s back yard too, as you can see.

I surprised these guys between two tree rows behind some houses on the south side of town. There probably three or four times as many as you see here, it’s just that some are more alert than others. There were deer on both sides of the street, poking around in the fields south of town.

As you see, there were enough deer to scoop up with a bucket! Unfortunately, nobody left a crane attached to this bucket, so it was too heavy to lift. These deer seemed more determined to find food than to bolt in search of safety. Let’s hope they ride out the rest of the winter okay.

It’s nice living in a place where wildlife still roams within the city. We’ve got bunnies in our yard, which are pleasant to watch when they’re not eating my wife’s flowers. I remember the night we got a call at Mandan PD about a deer charging down Collins Avenue! The furry critters of nature…they make life in Bismarck-Mandan interesting.

Must be a convention or something

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Waiting by a roadside near you! There’s a reason why I usually drive extra cautiously, with one foot on the brake, north of Bismarck on River Road. This particular afternoon I got a look at dozens of the deer which line the route to my favorite stargazing place…and they are many!

Apparently they weren’t too put out by a truck approaching them, since this is their stompin’ grounds. If you’re heading up River Road or Highway 1804, watch out for these deer! Their numbers are very great this year, at least in the meadows northwest of town.

Snow Day!

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It was long overdue, but I’m not complaining. This weekend we finally got enough snow to frolic in, and that’s exactly what the truck, the camera, and I did yesterday. A few guys from church meet the last Saturday morning of each month for breakfast, so I met them at 6:45, and after that came several hours of driving and hiking in the white stuff! My first stop was the cross country ski trail on the northeast corner of Mandan. My footsteps there were not the first.

Next I decided to poke around along the Missouri River. The geese apparently had the same idea, because an enormous flock of them was tucked into the rocks along the shore. They didn’t care for a guy with a big backpack and monopod poking around (or was it the NDSU Bison hat?) so they swam outward and upstream. Thankfully I managed to avoid falling in.


There are a lot of wild turkeys in the Bismarck-Mandan area, and this is a portion of one of them. They were hanging out in a residential neighborhood in north Mandan, and even came toward me as I crouched to take their photo! The snow was coming down fast enough to accumulate on their backs, and they fluffed up to stay warm and shake the snow off every now and then.

With a fresh tank of gas, it was time to drive Around the World and see what kind of nice rural snow scenes awaited. It actually began to snow so heavily that the view was obscured. That didn’t stop me from taking a picture of this friendly scarecrow before moving on.

While out south of Fort Lincoln, I paused to capture this bridge and the high waters of the Missouri River on the other side. When I started to leave, the window on my truck wouldn’t roll up! The passenger side window worked, so I knew the fuse was good. I pounded on the door a bit, tugged on the window…nothing worked. I resigned myself to a cold, damp drive into town, but when I got back on the highway…it worked! The trip wasn’t over yet.

This bridge was sold to the Fort Lincoln Trolley folks many years ago, so it doesn’t see any traffic during the winter. It ought to. This was a very picturesque scene, although they’d have to bring hot chocolate along for the ride.

I took lots more photos, but it’s been such a busy weekend that I’m just posting the highlights. It’s time to wax the sleds for more frolicking!

Hawk a-hunting

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I was on my way from work to pick up a Green Mill pizza last night when…what? Yes, as a matter of fact I *do* take the long way. Okay, let me start over. I was on my way from my office east of Bismarck to the Green Mill by way of the Briardale area, or thereabouts. The sky looked like it was particularly suited for a shot of the blockhouses from Fox Island, so I began to work my way back there when I saw this: a hawk getting ready for dinner.

I’m not sure what the unfortunate furry creature was, other than dinner. This hawk had caught it just outside of its burrow and made short work of it. It didn’t take long for the razor sharp beak or talons to slice this meal into hastily gobbled strips. Either this was a particularly tasty meal, or a particularly hungry hawk, because he was afraid neither of my truck nor myself approaching on foot. He was already fewer than twenty feet from the road, and it wasn’t a high traffic area, so he felt comfortable sticking around to finish his meal.

I could say that I have a way with birds…but I doubt that’s true for hawks. Every time I get near one and get my camera ready, they bolt. I’ve chased great blue herons, pelicans, and hawks over the year and a half since I bought my camera…and only had marginal success. This gracious hawk gave me my big break as he let me approach. I slowly worked my way closer…

and closer…enough to see that he had some ketchup or something around his beak…

and that was about enough. He’d finished his dinner and I was about six feet away. We sat and looked at each other for several minutes before we’d both had enough. I stood, he hopped over into the bushes along the river, and we parted ways…he across the river by flight, me to the Green Mill by big knobby tires.

Now, if I can just get him to give a reference to the pelicans and herons for me…

If deer could read

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These deer don’t have to…as long as they stay put. They seem pretty comfortable along the Heart River in Mandan, near the YCC. They were grazing pretty happily when I came along, and weren’t even took shaken by the presence of me or my truck. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll stay within sight of that crooked red and white sign!

Cold snap

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With temperatures as much as twenty to thirty degrees below the statistical normal for this time of year, it looks like someone got caught unprepared in my neighborhood. I spotted this poor little guy huddled under a car, trying to keep warm. I don’t think this is Greg because he’s a little too plump for my recollection. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to have a little bit of sympathy for a cute, furry, shivering creature.

Naturally, one wishes we could cuddle, coddle, and provide for every little creature out there…at least the cute ones, anyway. Obviously that’s neither prudent nor even possible, and wild animals don’t really want to be cuddled anyway. But I’m reasonably sure this little fella will do just fine in the cold, especially once his fur thickens for the approaching winter.

Still warm enough to bathe outside

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As demonstrated by this pair of robins and their more skittish friends who chose not to hang around for a photo, it’s still pretty nice out. These guys were splashing around like crazy in a little natural spring east of Bismarck.

Robins are fun to watch when there’s water around. Some are like this bird, who put their head down in the water and spin. Others just plop their butts down in the water, fluff up, and start flapping. In either case, it makes for a pretty funny sight!

Time to enjoy them while we can…soon the robins will be scarce and the water will be to hard to splash in.