I took quite a few photos of two of these beautiful little Pikas - enough shots to keep me from feeling like going through them all to find a few more that are OK to post. This is one of the closer captures, when this little animal froze for a few moments.
On 19 August 2014, I was lucky enough to have the chance to try and photograph a couple of these absolutely adorable little creatures : ) After a while, I was beginning to despair of ever getting any decent shots at all. These tiny Pikas, also known as Rock Rabbits, hardly ever remain still and they are extremely fast! Imagine a mountain hillside covered in sharp, jagged rocks of all sizes and then try to picture how difficult it is to find in the viewfinder the single rock on which one of these Pikas might happen to sit for a second or two, lol! As time passed, I managed to take quite a few photos, though many needed to be deleted. Hope you don't get tired of seeing these little guys, but they are just so very cute. A couple of times, this Pika came bounding over the rocks near to where we were standing and just sat there, long enough to get a few very close shots. They are about 15 to 23 centimetres (5.9 to 9.1 in) in body length, so really are pretty small, especially when off in the distance.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
I found this excellent and amusing YouTube video, 3:30 minutes long, It is The American Pika in the BBC's Life of Mammals series.
youtu.be/Sifk9uphr2Q
The weather forecast was not good for that day, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while. Our 18-hour day (from 6;00 a.m. till midnight!) started off with the thrill of seeing these Pikas and ended with a brief sighting of a black Wolf (could it be Skoki?) crossing the road ahead of us in the dark. It disappeared into the blackness, but shortly afterwards, we heard three (possibly four) separate Wolves howling way off in the distance. We just stood there, in total awe, listening to this amazing sound. The only wild Wolf I had ever seen before was when I was in Yellowstone National Park two years ago. Friends and I saw two Wolves feeding on a Bison carcass across a huge valley - so they were just distant specks, that became slightly larger specks when my camera was in full zoom, ha.
In between these two highlights, we saw several Deer, a small group of Mountain Sheep on the road, a tiny Chipmunk, a few Cedar Waxwings, Columbian Ground Squirrels, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk that sat on a branch out in the open for a long time, and two tiny Bats that flew very close over our heads when it was getting dark. We also saw an adult Grouse (Spruce Grouse?) with two young ones.
Then, of course, there is the scenery! Blue sky to go with the splendour of the mountains would have been wonderful, but we had been having cold and gloomy weather for a while before this day out. Highway 40 and the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail both run through such spectacular scenery, so it was a real treat for me, especially as I won't drive to those areas myself.
Tags: Alberta Canada Kananaskis K-Country Rocky Mountains Canadian Rockies Highway 40 nature animal mammal wild wild animal wildlife American Pika Pika Ochonta princeps Lagomorpha Ochotonidae Ochonta 6-9 inches long front/side view native close-up rocks scree cold climates annkelliott Anne Elliott FZ200 Lumix point-and-shoot BRAVO
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This was the first time I had ever seen a Pika - unless I saw one 30+ years ago. This wonderful opportunity was thanks to Phil and Jan, who so kindly invited me to go with them yesterday to Kananaskis! This little animal, 6-9" long, was photographed near the start of the Rock Glacier Trail, along Highway 40. This short trail is on the low lying slopes of Mount Rae. We saw two of them, running all over the dark brown scree (loose rocks) that had a thin layer of fresh snow over it. Very definitely not the easiest of surfaces to walk on, but it was worth every cautious step. In this image, the Pika has its round ears flattened against its head, but they look even cuter when their little ears stick out : )
Shortly before stopping at the Rock Glacier Trail, we had spent time at Highwood House on Highway 40, to see the beautiful, tiny Hummingbirds that visit the Hummingbird feeders that the owners of Highwood House place around the building. Nice to see another friend, Rob and his wife, out there, too. Thanks, Phil and Jan, for this most enjoyable day!
The window replacement people have arrived on my roof this morning! I thought I would still have another week, maybe! Have to get some things done - yikes! Oops, my mistake - just noticed a van parked almost out of my sight, that says Eavestroughing, etc., so I guess they are replacing the gutters, etc., not replacing windows yet.
www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
Tags: Alberta Canada Kananaskis K-Country Highway 40 Rock Glacier pull-off nature wild wild animal American Pika Pika Ochonta princeps mammal Lagomorpha Ochotonidae Ochonta 6-9 inches long side view macro close-up rocks scree #GreatNature #animal
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Another photo of one of two little Pikas (6-9" long) that I was lucky enough to see recently, when I had a great day in the mountains along the southern part of Highway 40, in Kananaskis. Friends, Phil and Jan, had invited me to go with them to go and see some Hummingbirds. Afterwards we continued along Highway 40 as far as Rock Glacier, where we saw two of these little "rock rabbits". There was a fresh covering of snow on some of the rocks, making climbing on the scree even more difficult, but it had to be done : ) It was also windy, as can be seen by the way the Pika's fur is being blown. This was the first time I had ever seen a Pika - unless I saw one 30+ years ago - so it was a real treat for me!
www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
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This was the first time I had ever seen a Pika - unless I saw one 30+ years ago. This wonderful opportunity was thanks to Phil and Jan, who so kindly invited me to go with them on 27 June 2012 to Kananaskis! This little animal, 6-9" long, was photographed near the start of the Rock Glacier Trail, along Highway 40. This trail is just north of Highwood Pass, which lies at 2,227 metres (7,310'), and is on the low lying slopes of Mount Rae. We saw two of them, running all over the dark brown scree (loose rocks) that had a thin layer of fresh snow over it. Very definitely not the easiest of surfaces to walk on, but it was worth every cautious step. In this image, the Pika has its round ears flattened against its head, but they look even cuter when their little ears stick out : )
Shortly before stopping at the Rock Glacier Trail, we had spent time at Highwood House on Highway 40, to see the beautiful, tiny Hummingbirds that visit the Hummingbird feeders that the owners of Highwood House place around the building. Nice to see another friend, Rob and his wife, out there, too. Thanks, Phil and Jan, for this most enjoyable day!
www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
Tags: Alberta Canada Kananaskis K-Country Glacier Rock Trail Highway 40 nature animal mammal wild wild animal American Pika Pika Ochonta princeps Lagomorpha Ochotonidae Ochonta 6-9 inches long front view close-up rocks scree beauty in nature Panasonic DMC-FZ40 DMC-FZ40 FZ40 Lumix point-and-shoot P1410810 FZ40 annkelliott beautiful_expression
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Yesterday, I was lucky enough to have the chance to try and photograph a couple of these absolutely adorable little creatures : ) After a while, I was beginning to despair of ever getting any decent shots at all. These tiny Pikas, also known as Rock Rabbits, hardly ever remain still and they are extremely fast! Imagine a mountain hillside covered in sharp, jagged rocks of all sizes and then try to picture how difficult it is to find in the viewfinder the single rock on which one of these Pikas might happen to sit for a second or two, lol! As time passed, I managed to take quite a lot of photos, though many will need to eventually be deleted. Came home with too many photos to go through when I got home (at midnight!) and this morning I have to get ready to go to my volunteer shift. So, basically, I grabbed a single shot to post today - hope you don't get tired of seeing these little guys, but they are just so very cute. This is a zoomed capture and at this point, the Pika was very close. They are about 15 to 23 centimetres (5.9 to 9.1 in) in body length, so really are pretty small. And, no, I didn't put one in my pocket to bring home with me - just kidding!
Will have to wait till I get home later, to add more information about yesterday's 18-hour trip. For now, I'll just say that the day started and ended on a great note. This little Pika started our day off with such delight, but wait till you hear about the day's ending (no photos taken, though).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
Tags: Alberta Canada Kananaskis K-Country Rocky Mountains Highway 40 nature animal mammal wild wild animal wildlife American Pika Pika Ochonta princeps Lagomorpha Ochotonidae Ochonta 6-9 inches long side view close-up rocks scree Explore interestingness#30 explore2014August21 annkelliott Anne Elliott Panasonic DMC-FZ200 FZ200 Lumix point-and-shoot
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