Some have fur and some have scales but there isn’t a feather to be found in this collection. All photos were taken two days ago (corrected from three to two).
While I was photographing the newly found pair of nesting Red-tailed Hawks this Red Fox appeared on the hill above me. At the time the female red-tail had been perched close to the ground between me and the fox and his presence made her nervous so both red-tails took off and landed close together on a safer, more elevated perch. There had been recent rain and snow so “his” fur was wet and somewhat matted down.
In the only two shots I got of the fox while he was turned my way he had his eyes almost closed into a squint and after that he almost immediately trotted away and disappeared. I don’t see foxes very often so I was definitely happier to see him than the hawks were.
Later that day I spent some time with some Yellow-bellied Marmots whose pups were very young – so young that I suspect they had only recently emerged from their burrow. This one sought the security of its mother and I was close enough that I couldn’t keep both of them entirely in the frame. But this photo does show how small the pup was relative to its mother.
As does this shot at the mother’s other end. There were at least three pups, possibly four, and they were the personification of cute.
I don’t have any unobscured shots of multiple pups but given their preferred rocky habitat I don’t think that’s necessary to enjoy an image.
Even at this tender age pups have itches that demand to be scratched.
Late that afternoon after I arrived home I found this cluster of garter snakes near the stump of my huge old elm tree that I had cut down a few days before. When I documented that tree removal in a blog post I mentioned that there were at least eight garter snakes denned at its base but the process of removing the tree apparently destroyed their den.
Here three or four of the snakes are clustered together but we can’t see mama’s eye because she’s looking at the entrance to their new den just out of frame at upper left. Soon after this shot was taken all of them disappeared into the den.
In previous years I’ve seen the occasional garter snake or two in my lawn and garden but I never knew where they came from. Now I do. I’ve always been afraid I’d run over them with my lawn mower or garden tiller but as far as I know it’s never happened.
I love having them around.
Ron
PS – A beginner’s mistake prevented me from posting an image that included the entire marmot family, including mama and three of her pups. I was too close to them for my big lens but that’s why I carry my 100-400 zoom lens on another camera. I used that combination to take a few shots of multiple pups and their mother and I hoped to include one of those photos in this post. But when I spotted the garter snakes I ran into my house, grabbed a camera, inserted a memory card into it and reformatted the card as I was walking out to photograph the snakes.
You guessed it. Those marmot photos were on that card and I deleted them when I reformatted the card and before I saved them to my computer. Poop!
Hey Ron, Just wanted to mention I did the same thing to my son a few years ago and “erased” his entire photo set from a Yellowstone vacation. Understandably he was pretty upset. Being a bit of a computer nerd, I told him not to worry, as the photos actually don’t get removed upon deleting (they just get removed from the flash card directory.) We were able to recover them when we all got home. I am not 100% certain, but even with a low level format, I’m pretty sure that the photos would still be there (and may be today). You can get cheap recovery software online if you are interested in checking out my theory.
Thanks for posting the non-feathered critters. It’s wonderful to ponder all the life we share the planet with. I love snakes but seeing 8,000 or even a fraction of that would likely cause me to lose some bodily function or other.
What a delight to see the Fox. I have seen Kit Foxes here, but like you, not often. Love the Marmot’s. What a good Mom!
Thanks, Jean. I’ve only seen Kit Foxes once and that was years ago in southern Utah.
I don’t think you said, “Poop.” 😉 I’m sorry about the loss of those shots — you’ll just have to go back out into the field, right? 😉
Love seeing furry and scaly critters. Those marmot pups are too cute for words! I especially like the mom/baby nuzzle. The snakes are pretty adorable too — such interesting coloration and so different from the ones here in SoCal. (Yes, I’m a weirdo and I love reptiles and amphibians. 😛 )
Speaking of SoCal, one of our local mountain Bald Eagle nest has two newly-hatched puff balls (yesterday and today). Definitely squee-worthy!
Nope, I was more creative than just poop, Marty – probably more creative than you think.
Two more eagles – always good news!
Love the fox. And the marmots. Who knew a scratch could be so cute? I appreciate the snakes from a distance. Many (most?) of our snakes are venomous, and some very much so. In one of our homes a red-bellied black lived under the front steps. For about nine months of the year I only used the back door.
Thanks, EC. North America has far fewer poisonous snakes than you have to deal with in Australia.
Another fine set of non-feathered photos. What particularly caught my west coast eye was the color of your family of garters. Ours out here very typically have pale yellow or nearly white stripes on a very dark greenish black background. Though coloration–in all animals–can vary widely and for many reasons, I’ve never seen any garter snakes colored quite like the ones you’ve captured in this photo. I didn’t even recognize them as garters until I started reading your caption. The other interesting fact about snakes that the average person may not be aware of is their tendency to gather in large numbers in dens like the one in your former tree. Don’t know exactly how widespread this behavior may be but I’ve had experience with it with Pacific rattlesnakes, sidewinder rattlesnakes, garters and gopher snakes here in California. It is also the way of life of the entirely pelagic sea snakes–who are cobra relatives and the cause of many injuries and deaths among SE Asian coastal people. They occur in the open ocean in huge numbers and are occasionally caught in near shore fishing nets.
James, who knows how many snakes are in the den under that huge stump. This about garter snakes from our Utah State Extension service:
“One den in Canada was the hibernation spot of more than 8,000 snakes.”
Indiana Jones worst nightmare…
Oh no about the card. But great shots here. Really loved the tangle of snakes.
Thanks, Arwen. That’s a mistake I’ve made before but until two days ago it had been a very long time. Hope I’m not regressing…
Great photos! I especially like the one of the Marmot pup scratching. Too bad about the photos on the memory card. That is definitely something I have done!
Haven’t been around for a while so now I am now playing post-vacation catch up on all your recent blog entries once again. What fun!
I’m happy to know you’re enjoying the catch-up process, Joanne. I had a lot of fun (and no small amount of stress) with some of those posts.
Great pictures of different wildlife. I have found Sneaky Snake in my garden on different occasions. They don’t bother me and they help control other critters that aren’t a joy to have around.
Betty, I like having them around but they can sure startle the poop out of me when I come across them in my yard unexpectedly…
Interesting photos Ron. Like you I very rarely ever see a fox. My wife watches a British wildlife vet show and apparently in suburban England they are everywhere. Cute is for sure regarding the Marmots. Took me a while to find a third Garter Snake head, but definitely there. Thanks for sharing these.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. I wonder if the ban on traditional fox hunting (using packs of dogs) in England has something to do with their current high density.
Love that we squinty fox and the itchy-scratchy marmot and I’m still trying to follow the length of each snake to see who’s who in their plate-of-spaghetti gathering.
Need more coffee.
Dave, I could only pick out three snakes in that photo but when they started moving toward the den entrance I’m pretty sure there were four of them. Hard to tell for sure in that slithering mass though…
Great images!! Love em all, especially the Fox and Garter Snake ball. Memories – Interesting to me that your Garter Snake looks a tad different than the eastern variety. It’s those black dots that cross the dorsal yellow line. Now I know I’m getting older, but I have a vivid memory putting a Garter Snake in my pocket and bringing it to school when I was a kid, and I don’t remember those black dots. VBG!! Probably its those 70 some odd years in-between then and now!
Many thanks for sharing.
Dick, we have both Western Terrestrial Garter Snakes and Common Garter snakes and there are multiple subspecies of each one so there must be quite a bit of variation among them.
Thanks Ron, didn’t know there was that much variatioin.
Cute! 🙂 Even the nice ball of snakes……..since they aren’t “buzz tails”…;) OUCH! Get in a hurry and………. 🙁 Baby anything is cute. 🙂 Love the Red Fox. Haven’t seen any in quite awhile and we’ve never had them at our place.
Judy, we had Red Foxes around Cut Bank when I was a kid and for years after that. Everyone said they were escapees and descendants of escapees from a place called “The Ranch”, a restaurant in the middle of nowhere between CB and Shelby that had their own little “zoo” to attract more patrons.
We had foxes denning on the family farm in some years.
I sure hope some birds enjoy snake, just something about snakes I prefer not to be around. Once again wonderful pictures.
Lots of birds eat snakes, Steven. In fact I saw one of those recent red-tails with what I believe was a snake (probably a gopher snake) only two days ago.
Very nice set! The fox looks healthy…I’ve seen some photos of them with mange and they are look miserable. Those marmots are the epitome of total cuteness! 😍 The snakes I can take or leave…mostly leave but I do snap some pictures when I come across them…all God’s creatures are deserving! Thanks for sharing your day.
Kathy, I’ll admit to deliberately making the snake photo the last one in the set. That way folks who are afraid of snakes (not you apparently) would see the other photos before they quickly clicked out of my post… :).
That third photo is beyond wonderful. I certainly like them all, but being able to see such interaction between animal mothers and their young is a great antidote to all sorts of negative vibes drifting through the world today.
I agree, Shoracres – that shot is almost like an antidote for despair. Thank you.