This Arctic Ground Squirrel was actually tracking a predator on a nearby ridge, but it looks like a tiny spirit guide to the Talkeetna Mountains.
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Pika Kingdom
It’s good to be back in Alaska! There was a storm rolling in, but this Collared Pika was enjoying every bit of summer in the meantime.
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Snowy Pika Scene
As I’ve written about a few times, I’m on a quest to photograph an American Pika in its winter habitat: on a snowy rock, with snowy mountain peaks in the background. This is my best version yet.
I had visited this spot a week prior and got some decent shots of pikas in the snow, but didn’t manage a scenic shot. During the week, a late spring storm shut down the mountain passes. After the storm passed, I was third in line to drive Tioga Road up to my favorite pika spot. The storm had started as rain, which melted a lot of the snow off the rocks. However, it left a strong dusting of snow on the surrounding peaks, which had been getting bare the previous week.
The pika was retrieving hay from the talus to munch on while surveying the lake, which gave me opportunities to shift into position for the shot without scaring it off.
I know I can make an even better version of this photo, but that will have to wait for the snow to return in the fall.
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Caracara
A Crested Caracara on a fence post is as much of a Patagonia cliche as a Red-Tailed Hawk on a fence post is here in California. With the fence line leading into foggy mountains, I was pretty happy with my version.
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Standing Tall
This Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel liked to rummage around for flowers and seeds before dashing up onto a high rock to eat while watching for predators, which made it easy to line up this photo with pines in the background.
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Morning Wren
A Cactus Wren pauses in the brief eruption of color preceding a desert sunrise.
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Snowy Wren
I usually associate Rock Wrens with places that are warm year round, but they’re actually found all the way up to 10,000 and as far north as British Columbia. These populations migrate downslope or south for the winter. This one must have just returned to the High Sierra, following the melting snow back to its summer home.
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Emerging
An American Pika emerges from its talus home as it waits for the remaining snow to melt and the summer haying season to begin.
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