Thursday, October 20, 2016

Another Rabbitat Round-up

Continuing with a theme, here's another series of camera trap photos from a different pygmy rabbit study site in Mono County.

But this round, a fuller cast of characters.

Dates are August to September.

First up - the local pygmy rabbit of the colony. Its main burrow entrance is under the dead willows, which, as you'll see below, is a wise choice/adaptation.

pygmy rabbit

Exhibit A: the next morning at 6:52am, during the typical crepuscular "bunny hours," one of the local bobcats came a prowlin'...

bobcat

As you can see, the low light caused the camera to fill-flash. Which really pulled out the details when you zoom or crop the images for a closer look.

Love the wet nose and tongue tip sticking out. So catty.

And the ear tufts - perfection.

bobcat portrait

The camera obviously didn't impress the bob, which sauntered right on by.

bobcat

bobcat

Just 2 minutes after the bobcat, at 6:54am, a couple of mule deer bucks also passed through.

Stalking the bobcat?

mule deer

mule deer

mule deer

mule deer

mule deer

And later, one stopped in for a closer inspection.

mule deer

Two rodents were commonly caught zipping through the scene - Ord's kangaroo rats and least chipmunks. Both are common denizens of the sage steppe.

kangaroo rat

least chipmunk

And another Lagomorph was a frequent visitor - black-tailed jackrabbit.

black-tailed jackrabbit

Much like the other location (that is many miles away), there's always a local Wyle. E. Coyote.

coyote

coyote

That, of course, just must see if my camera is edible.

coyote

Dogs.

coyote

coyote

But while the coyotes may evoke deja-vu, this location does have visitors that I haven't caught at any other pygmy sites, such as this owl. Which the cam caught several times and I think is a long-eared owl, even though the ears aren't up.

owl

Here's a closer crop. Other ideas? Confirmations?

owl close crop

Fast moving fangs and claws by land, and silent death-from-above by night.

Life is hard in a pygmy rabbitat.

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9 comments:

  1. Yes, Long-eared...that's gotta be a species that doesn't show up in many camera traps.

    That's a busy place. Amazing stuff, as always.

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  2. A fascinating post. Great photos. I say Long-eared Owl also.

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  3. Agree, it's a long eared. Not the type of habitat I'd usually think of as long-eared owl habitat, but ...

    Very nice photos.

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  4. So much sand and so much life. Seems like your cam traps are more colorful. Did you change your cam design or did we just miss you?

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    1. More colorful... This is one of my most recent hacks, a 12MP Sony, so maybe the colors are richer. The sandy setting always helps colors pop too.

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  5. I love the adaptive smaller size of both the bobcat and coyote. Those bucks did appear to have been keeping an eye on the cat. Great shots.

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  6. Catching up here. What a scene! The morning light is just stunning. Were you with us the year we found the long eared owl nest at the Kelso Depot? Not quite the same habitat as Mono Basin, but another place I was a little surprised to see them.

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  7. Just a thank you for your lovely photos.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks back at ya Jeannette for your long term attention. Hopefully I can find time to post more often.

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