Posts in Category: rodent
Yellowstone! Pika!
Pika: Sheepeaters Cliffs, Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — Coming back late in day from our first day in Yellowstone, we decided to check Sheepeater Cliffs one more time for Pika. We had seen none on our morning visit, but we knew they were there. There is a very rough kind of trail off the left of picnic tables at the foot of the talus slope that climbs up to a little amphitheater like bite out of the cliffs. Though I really should not have, considering my heart, I climbed up there with Ken and Teresa Bonner, since we were still not seeing Pika down by the parking. It is a magical place with the basalt columns rising up on three sides, brushed with the last rays of the sun. And there were Pika. At least 4 that we saw. The scramble back down was even more difficult than the scramble up, but I made it…only to find that Robert Wilson had been photographing Pika at his feet while sitting on a picnic table. 🙂 Pika: Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zooms at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Cliffs with the Sony a5100 and Sony E 10-18 f4 at 27mm equivalent. Superior Auto. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Pica pica
Pica: Sheepeater Cliffs, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — We made 4 visits to Sheepeater Cliffs in search of Pica…the little rock bunnies with the round ears…and saw them on two of those visits. They come out to the edge of the talus pile in search of green grasses and leaves, and then scurry back to eat what they find. And they are, in my opinion, about the cutest thing you can imagine. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Wind in the Willows
Eastern Fox Squirrel and Cotton Rat, National Butterfly Center, Mission TX
Okay, so really this has nothing to do with wind or willows. This image makes me think of the book, The Wind in Willows, with its stories of humanized animal friends…Ratty, Mole, Toad, Badger, etc…mainly because it looks like Squirrly and Cotton here are enjoying a companionable meal together, under the feeders at the National Butterfly Center. You know, like nattering away between seeds about what is happening in the gardens, and how the kids did this summer, and the prospects for high temperatures today, etc. Yes, I know how anthropomorphic that is, but I can’t help it. The Wind in the Willows, despite its talking animals, is one of my favorite books. In fact, after taking this pic, I downloaded a copy for my Kindle!
Nikon P610 at 900mm equivalent field of view. 1/60th @ ISO 640 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom. Cropped for composition.
Red Squirrels in Love
It is rare, these days, to see a Red Squirrel in Southern Maine. They are here, of course, as they always have been, but their bolder, more adaptable, Grey cousins certainly dominate the landscape. The Reds have retreated. Or so it seems. Being highly territorial, with one female per territory, and heavily dependent on conifer cone seeds, in a mixed landscape like Southern Maine, they have always been restricted to appropriate habitat. Maybe I just don’t get to where they are very often. At any rate, I was surprised to see not one, but two, Red Squirrels along the Kennebunk Bridle Trail when I was last there looking for dragonflies. And, even more surprised to see them mating…right there in the trail…out in plain sight…and totally oblivious to my intrusion. In fact, they were so busy that I eventually walked to within 10 feet of them, taking photos all the way. I have lots of stills and two snippets of video. I finally had to walk by them to get home, and I was within 4 feet of them before they bolted. Since female Red Squirrels are promiscuous, and generally have a dozen partners in pursuit, this gentleman squirrel was making the most of having her all to himself.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Pocket Gopher Encounter
We do not have gophers in the North-east, where I grew up, and continue to spend most of my time. I have never lived with a gopher infested lawn or garden patch, so I know gophers only by reputation. We did have woodchucks, lots of woodchucks, which look to me to be giant gophers, where I grew up in up-state New York, but they are more of a problem in pastures than in lawns and gardens. According to the range maps, I might have seen gophers in New Mexico in the 12 years I lived there, but I can not honestly say I remember seeing any. New Mexico favors Prairie Dogs.
So I could really enjoy my first close encounters with Pocket Gophers on this last trip to San Diego. I saw them first at Famosa Slough right in town, but this specimen is from Mission Trails Park, near Old Mission Dam. He was busy pushing dirt around and let me approach close enough for portraits.
They have, I find in a little research this morning, a reputation for being mean-tempered and likely to bite most anything or anyone that puts them in a corner, but here in their natural habitat with nothing to threaten them, I think they look sort of cute.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1800mm equivalent field of view (1200mm optical zoom plus 1.5x Digital Tel-converter). f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 400. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.