Most of the long-term forecasts I saw for Montana predicted that this winter would be relatively warm and dry.  It’s an El Niño year, which shifts the jet stream in a way that can have a big impact on temperature and precipitation.  And – so far at least – the forecasts have been spot on.  People who’ve lived in our area for decades said we had less snow in November and December than they ever remember.

This strong El Niño is great in some ways.  My back, for example, is delighted that I haven’t needed to shovel our driveway much over the past couple months.  But there are significant downsides.  A below-average snowpack raises the risk of summer wildfires, and it’s a gut-punch to the business owners in Cooke City who cater to snowmobilers in the winter.  The lack of snow also seems to have put a damper on local wildlife activity.

Moose sightings, in particular, are down dramatically compared to last winter.  A year ago I regularly saw double-digit moose in Round Prairie.  This winter I feel lucky when I spot a single moose anywhere in the park.

 

 

Sightings of other animals have been slower than usual as well.  I didn’t see any otters in December, and the only wolves I came across were too far away for good photos.  Thankfully I still had some fun wildlife encounters, often right by our house.  Our neighbors Jill and Greg occasionally spot a pine marten in their yard, and they’re kind enough to give me and Marie a heads up when one is around.

 

 

Red foxes have also been passing by our place.  They tend to be habituated, unfortunately, thanks to (I assume) handouts from people who think they’re helping and just don’t know any better.  Two foxes in particular stop by so frequently that Jill and Greg named them:  Tippy and Stubby.  I must admit that it takes all my willpower not to succumb to their adorable, imploring looks and share some contraband food – but I’ve resisted, I promise.  I’ve grown especially attached to Stubby, who occasionally helps me shovel our driveway before dawn and sometimes poses patiently for photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My December wildlife highlight was photographing a long-tailed weasel in its full white ermine coat (not exactly the most effective camouflage in a mostly snow-free landscape).  I owe the sighting to a fellow photographer named Larry, a professor based in Helena who spends many of his weekends in Yellowstone.  I noticed Larry pointing his camera at something by the road at Confluence and stopped a good distance away to see if I could figure out what he had.  Larry generously waved me over, and there on the slope down to the Lamar River was a tiny, white, impossibly cute face peeking out of the brush.

 

 

Soon we were joined by two other photographers – Lauren, who lives in Michigan but visits the park regularly, and Rob, a guide with Yellowstone Wild.  The ermine entertained us for over an hour, embodying the classic mustelid mix of curiosity and wariness, before darting off.  It’s especially fun to have an experience like that with a small group of people who appreciate it as much as you do and behave responsibly around wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

In early January I finally found otters for the first time this winter.  A crowd had gathered just east of Confluence to watch a lone otter catching fish along an unfrozen stretch of Soda Butte Creek.  Eventually a second otter joined the first, and one of them very cooperatively hauled a large trout onto the ice and devoured it in full view of the ever-growing audience.  It was just the hit my otter addiction needed after enduring such a long withdrawal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A run of legitimately frigid weather finally arrived in mid-January.  For a few days the temperature mostly stayed below zero, and one morning my car’s thermometer dropped to -40F, the lowest I’d ever seen it.  I almost – almost – felt a little relieved that the otters weren’t out that morning.

 

 

 

Relatively slow wildlife activity during the first half of winter was balanced out by a nice run of human visitors.  Marie’s friend Kat and her son Mo visited in mid-December, our niece Kate and her friend Emmy came for a great visit in early January, and our neighbor Wendy visited in mid-January.  Wendy, in her late 70s now, grew up in Silver Gate and still spends summers here, but for the rest of the year she lives in Billings.  Marie and I enthusiastically agreed when Jill and Greg suggested that Wendy might enjoy a winter visit, and she spent almost a week with us – first at Jill and Greg’s place and then at ours.  Wendy was a fun guest and we really enjoyed getting to know her better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least was a quick late January visit from Rob E., one of my longtime friends in our group that does annual hiking trips.  Rob could only spend one full day here, but we managed to fit in an awesome morning of wildlife watching, a few short hikes, and dinner at Miners Saloon.  Rob capped his visit by spotting wolves on his drive back out of Yellowstone.

 

 

 

I read recently that the impact of El Niño should begin to diminish soon, but so far the extended forecast continues to look pretty mild.  My fingers are crossed that we can still build up a decent snowpack without having to watch the thermometer drop back down to -40F again…