Buffalo Dan's Bison

  On sunny days at the farm when I'm sitting comfortably in my camper I'm often visited by birds passing through the area. The Carolina wrens are the most frequent and inquisitive visitors, often walking across the roof and even peeking through the windows at me. Song sparrows and blue birds also make frequent daily visits. These little friends all go quiet when the American kestrel shows up mid morning as well as when the larger red shouldered hawk passes through. The most impressive bird to come by is the occasional red-tailed hawk.     I can frequently hear crows in the distance and during the winter months for several years in a row I've heard the low caw of ravens passing over head.   I can only assume they come down from the mountains further west, but where they are going is a mystery to me.  All of the maps I've read showing the raven's range indicate they shouldn't be here, but they are. Although all animals on the ranch are connected to each other

  After nearly 10 years getting to know the bison on my ranch on a very personal level I recently had the opportunity to come near a bison herd living in Yellowstone National Park and found the parallels in their behavior remarkable.  Over the years I have learned how to "read" the bison on my ranch to the point where I usually know exactly what each of them is thinking and what they are likely to do next.  For example, I can tell when a bull is courting a female and wants me to go away or when a mother wants her calf to stop trying to nurse.  I can tell when they are anxious or playful by looking at an individual bison or just the entire herd from a distance.    The bison I encountered at Yellowstone were getting ready to cross a road, so I parked the car to watched them pass.  As they approached, other cars came by and some of them stopped to watch, while others drove by in an annoyed rush.  The entire herd walked right by the car and I really enjoyed seeing them.  The herd