Yellow-bellied Marmot On A Cliff
On April Fool's Day of 2022, I was up in far northern Utah where I spotted this adult male Yellow-bellied Marmot warming up in the morning sun on a cliff.
On April Fool's Day of 2022, I was up in far northern Utah where I spotted this adult male Yellow-bellied Marmot warming up in the morning sun on a cliff.
This morning a shadow will be seen by any Yellow-bellied Marmots that venture above the snow-covered, frozen ground in northern Utah.
This morning I am sharing some photos of the mammals I loved finding, seeing, photographing and having in my viewfinder in 2022.
Last week I showed my friend Steve Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta Mountains and I was able to put him on a lifer Yellow-bellied Marmot.
Today I am sharing two portraits of recently photographed Yellow-bellied Marmot pups that I found near their den in desert habitat in northern Utah.
A few days ago I was thrilled to have four small Yellow-bellied Marmot babies to observe and photograph on some rocks in far northern Utah.
I was delighted to find and photograph a Yellow-bellied Marmot pup peeking out of a crack in some lichen-covered rocks on the 1st of April in northern Utah.
Groundhog Day is simply another day where I grow even more concerned about life giving water here in Utah. I'm not superstitious. I rely on facts.
January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day around the globe. There are many reasons to appreciate these furry, four legged, cute creatures.
I found and pointed out dozens of birds yesterday but the biggest surprise to me was spotting a Yellow-bellied Marmot out and about in the middle of January.
Around the middle of March while photographing nesting hawks I spotted a bit of movement and saw this Yellow-bellied Marmot resting on a cliff.
March is when I usually see my first of the year Yellow-bellied Marmot awake and above ground here in northern Utah.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot in these photos should be hibernating until mid-March. I spotted it wide awake yesterday on a rocky slope in northern Utah.
I have taken thousands of images of Yellow-bellied Marmots where the marmots have been closer but very few of them that include as much habitat as this photo does.
Three days ago I saw and photographed my first of the year Yellow-bellied Marmot in East Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains.
We didn't stay long at the Yellow-bellied Marmot burrow because I wanted to take my mom to the Spiral Jetty and we still had a long, dusty way to go but we enjoyed the time we had with the pups.
The Yellow-bellied Marmot pup spent most of its time exploring the area around its burrow, climbing up and down the rocks, sitting, standing, scratching its fur, looking around and being a marmot pup in the wild where they belong.
Yellow-bellied Marmots are also called "Whistle Pigs" and "Rock Chucks" so I have to wonder should I call their pups "Whistle Piglets" and "Rock Chucklets" or just call them cute and adorable?
All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.
At one of the burrows where I photographed Yellow-bellied Marmot pups in the spring there was one pup of the five that had a paler face than the other four had and I thought that was interesting.
There are some photographs that I feel I simply have to take when given the opportunity and this photograph of a Yellow-bellied Marmot pup grooming its tail was one of those photos.
Photographing Yellow-bellied Marmot pups have delighted me this spring and since they don't stay little for long I have taken photos of them every time I have had the chance.
Spring is the season of birth and rebirth, the leaves of trees unfurl, the dormant grasses and forbs poke up through the ground, flower buds burst open and flowers in all the colors of the rainbow appear on the landscapes, birds nest and incubate and wild animals give birth to their young.
The two times I have observed and photographed these Yellow-bellied Marmot pups I have enjoyed watching them explore the area around their burrow, not only are they cute they are also entertaining.
It looked to me like this Yellow-bellied Marmot pup was doing CrossFit, a move my son who is active in CrossFit tells me is called a "bar muscle up". By then I was laughing so hard that it was hard to maintain focus on the marmot pup while it was hanging there on the fence.
The most fun I had yesterday wasn't photographing my feathered friends instead it was while I photographed a female Yellow-bellied Marmot and her five delightful pups.
I get excited to see and photograph my first Yellow-bellied Marmots of the years, sunning on rocks, scurrying along a hillside, nibbling on fresh spring grasses or calling out an alarm because a raptor is flying overhead.
Punxsutawney Phil can have the spotlight today, our Yellow-bellied Marmots will have their time in the sun soon enough.
I have been very successful spotting Yellow-bellied Marmots and their pups the past few weeks in northern Utah and it has been a delight for me to photograph and observe them.
Yesterday I was able to photograph a Yellow-bellied Marmot with pups, these are photos I have wanted to take for years but until now haven't been able to create.