Marmots, Gophers, and Pikas, oh my!

coldclimb · July 28, 2008

I took a walk this last weekend with my wife up to the snowline in the nearby mountains. Yes, there's a snowline, we got FRESH SNOW in the middle of July. :huh Lame. Along the way, we ran across various small mammals, and shot each one in turn. Enjoy!

A fern clings to the side of the creek.

Fresh snow peeking through the clouds around the nearby peaks.

And now we get down to the fur of the matter. This hoary marmot was very kind in posing for a whole bunch of shots.

Moving along, a while later we came across a few gophers, and one posed agreeably in front of the rocky entrance to a burrow.

Some more of the local scenery.

On the hike out, we ran across some much more elusive game in the form of the tiny chirping mouse-like Pikas, which would never be noticed at all if they didn't chirp loudly and regularly. These guys are hard to find. None of them were nearly as happy to pose and let me get close. Here's one peeking out at me.

A little more exposed.

Another peeking Pika. These guys are so small it's hard to get the autofocus to find them. :rofl

Here's another gopher who was happy to pose. Look at those claws!

And to wrap things up, here's some moss on a rock.

Gale · July 28, 2008

Very nice shots
Cute critters for sure

IraRunyan · July 28, 2008

Excelent photographs and a great presentation.

bfjr · July 28, 2008

Nice seeing you hear on the 'Wildside"

Enjoy your work where ever you post

akmoose · July 28, 2008

Hatcher Pass?
Really nice captures!

The area looks familiar to me ...Hatcher Pass?

I spent about 12-hours weekend before last up there photographing Pika and had a blast doing it. If you settle into the boulder field they sometimes will come to you. Curious little creatures.

coldclimb · July 28, 2008

akmoose wrote:

Really nice captures!

The area looks familiar to me ...Hatcher Pass?

I spent about 12-hours weekend before last up there photographing Pika and had a blast doing it. If you settle into the boulder field they sometimes will come to you. Curious little creatures.

Yup! Hatchers is where I call home. Did you get good pika shots? Those guys were skittish for me.

Thanks for viewing and posting everyone!

akmoose · July 28, 2008

Hatcher ...
Hatcher Pass ...Cool!

I did get lucky and came up with this shot ...

The Pika I photograph are in a boulder field next to the road and I am sure that they are a little more tolerant of people being around them.

Again, really nice shots and thanks for sharing.

Awais Yaqub · July 28, 2008

Beautiful series !

coldclimb · July 28, 2008

akmoose wrote:

Hatcher Pass ...Cool!

I did get lucky and came up with this shot ...

Haha awesome! Mine weren't doing anything like that. Nice capture!

Thanks Awais!

KCBearcat · July 29, 2008

Definitely cute critters and a nice presentation of them.

Matt S · July 29, 2008

Nice marmot. That snow was a real bummer. I have not seen the pika in hatcher but I am not surprised they are there. I have photographed them in Denali, similar terrain. Might have to get out and shoot tonight. First time in a while I've seen that big orb in the sky.