Great find on the Merlin, Rik. Yellowstone is right on the edge of its breeding grounds. Could be why most people don't see them very often in the Park. Great shot of a very uncommon bird in the GYE....congratulations!
Nice shot of the muskrat, too. I used to see a muskrat not far from the Indian Creek CG. Take the path behind the log cabin (at the CG entrance)that runs north, parallel to the stream. About a quarter mile or so, you'll see a brilliant colored thermal spring that feeds into the creek. Several times in the past, I've seen a muskrat swimming back and forth from the spring area to its home along the Creek. And its mouth and front feet were always jam-packed with twigs, branches and vegetation that it had collected. I couldn't tell if it had offspring to feed or if it was just building up its home. The muskrat was an unbelievable worker. I often thought that the Park should have put it on salary at $50/hr for all its hard work. I was so impressed by its work ethic that I walked over to the bank, bent down and asked it if would like to knock down all the tall grass at our house, saying that it could keep every blade. Apparently the muskrat wasn't interested because it zoomed out into the middle of the Creek.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)