Andy loves to run on the mountain behind our house and one day he sheepishly gushed about seeing a mother bobcat and her kittens. He got to spend about 10 minutes with them and I was SOOOO jealous! Thank heavens they came by our neighbor's house and hung out for a bit. The lighting was tough and the other kitten was hidden, but you can see they are such amazing animals.
We see so much wildlife in Estes Park that it is easy to overlook Boulder. On Monday, however, we went to Walden Ponds and looked for birds. I almost yanked Andy's arm off alerting him to this one. It was so close and didn't even move while Tiva sniffed the trail and I fumbled for the camera in Andy's backpack. Wow!
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels are hibernators. It means that at this time of the year, they are putting on the pounds. It is hard to believe that this one still fits in her fur! Good luck this winter, little one.
Friday mornings mean bird walks at RMNP. After a quiet week last week, Andy and I didn't know what to expect. Well, the birds are on the move, because we saw dozens of species at Upper Beaver Meadows! So, in spite of the light rain, we had a great time -- just no pictures to show for our efforts. On the way home Andy spotted a coyote! It was wearing its light summer coat and was beautiful. Here are my favorite pictures -- I did get one of it peeing, but decided to give it some privacy. Too bad a bush was between us when it caught a vole. Maybe next time...
I love pikas and couldn't wait to get back up to the Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road. I convinced Andy to run up the Ute trail again (this time from our house) and I got to spend time in the high country. This time I tried the pre-focus technique for my pika pictures. I would focus on a rock and then watch the pika run its route. Just when it was coming through my focus area, I would "shoot" away. This little one was pretty far away but it was fun to get some action shots. No pre-focus needed for the marmots. They are in energy conservation mode now. It was fun to see two American Pipits. One was an adult (buff colored breast), the other was a juvenile (streaky breast). I can't wait to get back up to the tundra again!
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