Sunday, March 20, 2016

Bunny Zone 3 - Los Sympaticos

The 2015 who's-who of coincident species at the Mono County pygmy rabbit warren included most of the same characters as 2014. Even the same cute coyote. But 2 new faces did show.

Here's a round-up.

k-rat
Kangaroo rat, likely Ord's

juvie jack
Juvenile black-tailed jackrabbit

juvie jack

juvie jack

chipmunk
Least chipmunk

jackrabbit
Adult black-tailed jackrabbit

One of the new faces for 2015 was a bird. Pretty sure it's a female horned lark.

lark
Female horned lark at pygmy rabbit burrow

The other new face was a predator - an American badger!

badger
American badger checking out the rabbit burrow on June 15th

badger

badger

I don't know why the badger didn't dig out the burrow. The rabbits were down there, and those badger claws could go through that sand like butter.

In fact, the same badger returned 5 weeks later (after the camera had shifted left, btw), and once again didn't dig out the burrow. And this time the juvie pygmy rabbit was down there as well.

badger
Same badger returning to burrow on July 22nd

badger

badger

Sage sparrows and sage thrashers came by multiple times, but the rock wren of 2014 wasn't seen by the camera trap in 2015.

sage sparrow
Sage sparrow

sage thrasher
Sage thrasher

And, as mentioned, the same cute coyote prowled around several times.

coyote
Coyote checking out burrow complex

coyote

The 2 new additions brings the total coincident species documented at the site since the beginning of the study to 12: coyote, American badger, black-tailed jackrabbit, Paiute ground squirrel, least chipmunk, ord's k-rat, deer mouse, sage thrasher, sage sparrow, rock wren, horned lark and Great Basin spade foot toad.

Wonder who'll show up in 2016?

jackrabbit
Jack one-eyeing the camera at sunrise

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7 comments:

  1. Great Badger photos.

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  2. That nose, those ears with those badger claws? Incredible.

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  3. Love all these images and am curious about the coyote's recently wet legs. Was there a dewy meadow nearby?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the slow reply John - there is a man-made wildlife spring/pond at a nearby wellhead that the coyote seems to enjoy.

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  4. That's a busy place, similar to my brushpile set: http://forestandfield.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-brush-pile-i.html and http://forestandfield.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-brush-pile-ii.html

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  5. All gorgeous photos. Love that badger.

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  6. I was in Carrizo Plain over Spring Break. We had Kangaroo Rats hanging around camp (not sure of the species). I love this blog. Thanks for sharing the passion.

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