Yellowstone National Park

National Park · United States

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Photo © James St. John from Newark, Ohio

Photo © James St. John from Newark, Ohio — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Across nearly 11,400 square kilometres of the Rocky Mountain plateau, geothermal fury and pristine wilderness converge in one of Earth's most dynamic landscapes. Hot springs, geysers and steaming vents punctuate a terrain of lodgepole forest, sagebrush meadow and alpine tundra, where glacial valleys carved by ancient ice meet rivers that define the western American watershed. This mosaic of habitats—from boiling thermal basins to cold mountain streams—sustains a remarkable array of wildlife adapted to extremes. Large predators and ungulates roam the open valleys and forest edges; raptors quarter the skies above meadow and canyon rim; waterbirds congregate where thermal features keep rivers ice-free even in the depths of winter. Smaller mammals inhabit the forest floor and alpine zones, while fish and aquatic invertebrates thrive in both geothermal and snowmelt-fed waters, creating ecological niches found nowhere else on the continent.

For wildlife observers, the park's vastness and accessibility make it unmatched among temperate protected areas. Spring and early summer bring migratory birds returning to breeding grounds, while autumn concentrates ungulates in accessible valleys as they prepare for winter. The park's thermal features offer photographers year-round subjects—steam rising against dawn light, thermal run-off creating vivid mineral palettes, and animals drawn to thermally warmed water during harsh seasons. Multiple valleys and plateaus allow visitors to sample diverse habitats within a single day's travel, and an extensive road network provides both intimate wildlife encounters and sweeping vistas across undisturbed terrain. Whether tracking large predators across open sagebrush or capturing birds of prey silhouetted against canyon walls, the combination of ecological richness, dramatic geology and reliable wildlife visibility makes this national park essential for anyone seeking authentic Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Website nps.gov/yell

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Aquila chrysaetos

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Charadrius vociferus

Pandion haliaetus

Antigone canadensis

Black-billed Magpie

Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

Clark's Nutcracker

Nucifraga columbiana

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Brown-headed Cowbird

Turdus migratorius

Anas platyrhynchos

Dendragapus obscurus

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

American Dipper

Cinclus mexicanus

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Fulica americana

Mountain Chickadee

Poecile gambeli

Dark-eyed Junco

Great Blue Heron

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Spatula cyanoptera

Haemorhous cassinii

Oxyura jamaicensis

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Pooecetes gramineus

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Cyanocitta stelleri

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Hairy Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus villosus

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Mareca strepera

Salpinctes obsoletus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

Green-tailed Towhee

Pipilo chlorurus

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

Gallinago delicata

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Anthus rubescens

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Western Warbling Vireo

Vireo swainsoni

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Melospiza melodia

Passerina amoena

Ferruginous Hawk

Evening Grosbeak

Hesperiphona vespertina

Falco mexicanus

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Oreoscoptes montanus

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Corvus brachyrhynchos

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

Cygnus buccinator

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Picoides dorsalis

Williamson's Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus thyroideus

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Mountain Pygmy Owl

Glaucidium gnoma

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Branta canadensis

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Bucephala albeola

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Bombycilla cedrorum

Barrow's Goldeneye

Bucephala islandica

Setophaga coronata

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Tachycineta bicolor

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Hirundo rustica

American Dusky Flycatcher

Empidonax oberholseri

Hammond's Flycatcher

Empidonax hammondii

Catharus guttatus

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

Histrionicus histrionicus

Porzana carolina

Perisoreus canadensis

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Loxia curvirostra

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Aythya americana

California Gull

Larus californicus

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Northern Pintail

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Calliope Hummingbird

Selasphorus calliope

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Zenaida macroura

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Long-billed Curlew

Numenius americanus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Tringa semipalmata

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

White-faced Ibis

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

Falco columbarius

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Riparia riparia

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Certhia americana

Passer domesticus

Plectrophenax nivalis

Chondestes grammacus

Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Quiscalus quiscula

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Rough-legged Buzzard

Aegolius funereus

Branta hutchinsii

Anser caerulescens

Aythya valisineria

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Centrocercus urophasianus

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Tympanuchus phasianellus

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

Common Poorwill

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Selasphorus platycercus

Rallus limicola

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegena

Podiceps auritus

Aechmophorus clarkii

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Hydroprogne caspia

Chlidonias niger

Sterna forsteri

Sterna paradisaea

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

American Goshawk

Astur atricapillus

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Short-eared Owl

Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewis

Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Black-backed Woodpecker

Picoides arcticus

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus

Vireo olivaceus

Plumbeous Vireo

Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianus

Northern Shrike

Lanius borealis

Cyanocitta cristata

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

Catherpes mexicanus

Cistothorus palustris

Dumetella carolinensis

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Ixoreus naevius

Catharus fuscescens

Black Rosy Finch

Leucosticte atrata

Haemorhous mexicanus

Acanthis flammea

Two-barred Crossbill

Loxia leucoptera

American Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Grasshopper Sparrow

Ammodramus savannarum

Calamospiza melanocorys

Clay-colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

Red Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

American Tree Sparrow

Spizelloides arborea

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Sagebrush Sparrow

Artemisiospiza nevadensis

Pipilo maculatus

Yellow-breasted Chat

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Nashville Warbler

Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Melanitta perspicillata

Pluvialis squatarola

Phalaropus fulicarius

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus glaucoides

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Troglodytes pacificus

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

Chestnut-collared Longspur

Calcarius ornatus

Spizella pusilla

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Virginia's Warbler

Leiothlypis virginiae

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striata

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

Cervus canadensis

Antilocapra americana

Ovis canadensis

Odocoileus hemionus

Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Callospermophilus lateralis

North American Red Squirrel

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Neotamias minimus

Yellow-pine Chipmunk

Neotamias amoenus

Rocky Mountain Goat

Oreamnos americanus

American Badger

Lepus americanus

Ochotona princeps

Ondatra zibethicus

North American River Otter

Lontra canadensis

North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Mountain Cottontail

Sylvilagus nuttallii

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

Uinta Ground Squirrel

Urocitellus armatus

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Marmota flaviventris

Northern Pocket Gopher

Thomomys talpoides

White-tailed Jackrabbit

Lepus townsendii

North American Porcupine

Erethizon dorsatum

Southern Red-backed Vole

Clethrionomys gapperi

Western Deermouse

Peromyscus sonoriensis

Little Brown Myotis

Myotis lucifugus

American Ermine

Mustela richardsonii

Long-tailed Weasel

Neogale frenata

Neotamias umbrinus

Bushy-tailed Woodrat

Neotoma cinerea

Western Water Shrew

Sorex navigator

Mephitis mephitis

Northern Raccoon

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