Yes, we can count; we skipped over day 37. John did some reading on the Canon R7 to change settings to improve the focus. There are three shutter settings – mechanical, electronic first curtain, and electronic. That list goes from slowest to fastest, noisiest to quietest, and most vibration to least vibration. One article suggested using electronic shutter, taking a lot of images to make sure some are in focus, and filtering out the bad images. John attempted this method, and he has 2474 images and movies to filter. It might take a few days.

Today, we planned to go up to Hellroaring Creek and Lost Lake to hike with stops at LeHardy Rapids to check for trout and Elk Antler Creek to check for ducklings. We spontaneously decided to stop for the Great Blue Heron nests and the Stellar’s Jay. We found the baby Great Blue Herons are still in the nests, and they are getting bigger.

And a Common Raven flew through while we were watching the baby herons.

They are stretching their wings, so they may be leaving the nest soon.

Kate is getting better with the scope.

We did not find a Stellar’s Jay across the street, but we did not look for long. We did find a Mallard swimming along the shoreline.

We did not find a trout at LeHardy Rapids, but we did find a couple looking for Harlequin ducks. We informed them it was too late, but John showed them photos and movies of the ducks. We told them that they needed to get to the rapids earlier in the year. They told us that there are normally a lot of American Dippers at the Lava Creek picnic area.

We did not find baby ducklings at Elk Antler Creek, so we moved on.

We stopped at Canyon Village for a restroom break, and it was a zoo,

When we got to Roosevelt to hike to Lost Lake, the trail was closed. There was an alternate trail up the road, but it was looking like rain. We decided to drive to the Lava Creek picnic area to check for American Dippers because it was further from the rain clouds. When we got there, it was half full with people cycling in and out of the picnic area and parking lot. The picnic area only had two or three picnic tables, but it was situated next to a pretty little creek.

While we were sitting at a picnic table looking for birds, several cars arrived together and disgorged about a dozen teenagers, like clowns from a car at the circus. They immediately started yelling and running around the picnic area, much likes clowns. To escape the chaos, we hiked the trail near the picnic area down to Undine Falls.

The trail did not go along the river, so the American Dippers were not here either. The entire hike was through a sagebrush and wildflower filled field, so we did find a Hayden’s Ringlet Butterfly.

Undine Falls was pretty, but it is not the most spectacular falls in Yellowstone. Shortly after we arrived at the falls, the group of feral clowns … um … teenagers with parents and grandparents arrived at the falls. Kate took a selfie with the falls, and we left. On the drive back to Hellroaring Creek Trail, it started to pour rain and hail. We got the message; we headed home.

On the way home we checked for the ducklings, and they still were not out. There were a bunch of ducks we had seen before swimming around, so they made for good camera practice.

A female Green-winged Teal swam along the creek where we saw the ducklings. The water on the creek was almost mirror flat, so it looked like the duck was diving into itself.

The creek is slightly less scenic with a duck butt sticking up in the air. A female mallard also swam by with a similarly great reflection.

There were American Wigeons and Lesser Scaups swimming around the pool at the edge of the creek. John practiced targeting different subjects to take pictures. The camera is not always good about letting you select the subject.

John went to the other side of the road, and the muskrat showed up again. John saw him swim into what must be the underwater entrance to his den.

John had been using the 200-800mm lens the greater range and magnification. He also wanted to test the L 100-400mm lens with the Canon R7. This lens is part of the “L” series, so it is supposed to have superior optics, image stabilization, and focusing. It might have been luck, but the lens appears to live up to its reputation. He practiced on a Lesser Scaup that found … something … to eat.

And then, it was startled by something and took off. Or maybe, it tried to walk on water. This might be the two of the most comical pictures John has ever taken.

And the female Lesser Scaup.

After packing up and just before leaving, a Great Blue Heron arrived. While assembling the camera, tripod, and 200-800mm lens, the heron took off again and landed even closer. We never saw it do anything other than wait and drink.

And a Bald Eagle flew by. John managed to capture a few pictures with the 200-800mm lens, but you can see how rubbish these pictures are compared to the duck taking off.

Kate was trying to identify a duck with a brown Mohawk and spots on its chest. She lost track of it, but it was likely a female Common Merganser.