Monday, November 25, 2013

Mono Grotto Lotto

Remember that cave-like creek grotto from last year that was frequented by bobcats and birds? The one in the Mono County canyon created by 2 fallen rim rocks?

grotto

grotto

Well, given the shade, water and protection from stray camera-triggering summer sunbeams, I decided to set it again this year.

Seems the bobcats might have competition for those furred and feathered Great Basin snacks.

panamint chipmunk?
Perhaps Panamint Chipmunk? Has indistinct stripes and looks too chunky for Least

pinyon jay
Pinyon Jay

mountain cottontail
Mountain Cottontail

western tanager
Western Tanager

fledgling robin
Fledgling American Robin?

pipit?
Blurry, in-motion American Pipit?

song sparrow
Song Sparrow

bobcat
Bob

bushy-tailed woodrat
Bushy-tailed Woodrat

bushy-tailed woodrat
Second, larger Bushy-tailed Woodie

raccoon
Raccoon dabbing the creek

fence lizard
Female Fence Lizard coming down to water

collared cougar
And a collared, slightly bigger kitty also passed through

collared cougar

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11 comments:

  1. Wow! That's a nice suite of wildlife...hard to do better than the Slightly Bigger Kitty. I love how the jay glows with the flash too.

    Fledgling robin is correct. The following bird is a juvenile robin; American Pipit has browner upperparts, streakier chest (as opposed to all spots) and lacks the orange on the side of the breast.

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    1. Gracias Seagullman - juvie robin was our backup but it looks soooo adult, and we so wanted something more interesting.

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  2. What a great spot. The bobcat is especially handsome. The bird photos reminded me: When in doubt, it's always a robin. ;)

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  3. Now that I've gotten up close to a dusky-footed woodrat and tail, it's fun to see such a good photo of the bushy-tailed woodrat. Someone did a good job of naming that species. Remind us how you can tell that is a female fence lizard. ah heck, I'll just look it up again on Cal Herps.

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  4. Not counting the blue belly on the underside (which is not visible in your photo), I would say that female fence lizards, at least those on Cal Herps, are better looking with those classic crescents and trim lines.

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    1. The males in the area tend to almost black, and I have other photos with them coming to water too, but not as clear and crisp as the photo of the femme fencie.

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  5. Here is something that will catch your attention. An American Pipit is about the size of a Song Sparrow. Compare the two photos using the green moss for a size comparison. The (pipit) is much bigger in the photo. See how dark its tail is. I'm fairly certain that its a thrush. My first impression of the bird when I saw the photo was that I was looking at a bird I saw here in Alaska a few years ago, a Redwing. Did you get other photos of that bird? It is worth taking a very careful look at it.

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  6. Now that I got your hopes up. The bird is most likely just an imm. Robin, but older than the fledgeling in the earlier photo. Great post anyway.

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    1. No worries John. The place is very birdy, over 150 species documented to date, including the Pipit, so it's not an area where you can easily leave any species out of the possibles. And that photo has the bird coming at the cam, which makes it hard to tell size.

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  7. How does your camera capture the lizard? Motion only? Or is it kind of on a "guard duty"?

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    Replies
    1. Fencies can actually store up a bit of heat and be a few degrees warmer than their surrounds, but in this case it's mostly because the hot lizard came into the cool shade from the sunny slope above.

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