YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — While summer is the busiest season in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), fall brings with it a different kind of magic. When the crowds start to thin out, mornings get a bit more crisp and the animal kingdom prepares for a long, white winter ahead.
YNP photographer Jacob W. Frank captured some glimmers of late summer and early fall this week. Long shadows creep into view while visitors have the boardwalks to themselves. Wildlife takes center stage in amber fields where wolves and ravens feed on bison carcasses next to each other.
Elk mating season, the “rut,” will soon be upon the park. According to Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of YNP, Mammoth Hot Springs is the best place in the park to hear bull elk bugling and see them compete for the attention of females.
The chill of September and shorter days announces to raptors that the time has come to migrate to warmer climates. Resident birds typically leave the park between late August and October. Others can be seen just passing through en route to nesting territories and winter ranges in the southern U.S. and Central and South America. Keep an eye out for hawks, eagles and other raptors near Hayden Valley, Dunraven Pass, Mount Washburn and Swan Lake Flats, which are all located along migration routes, per Yellowstone Forever.
Fall is a beautiful time of year to interact with Yellowstone, but bears are in their hyperphagia phase, searching for food and putting on weight for winter. If venturing off the boardwalk, carry bear spray, be aware and view wildlife from a safe distance.
