Last month we visited first Colorado and then Oregon in Western USA. I went armed with my less cumbersome middle lens. The first wildlife that I photographed were these comical prairie dogs. They dug out big holes in the prairie earth and could be seen popping in and out of them. They were about the size of hares or small dogs.
You can see the holes are much wider than rabbit holes.
This one seemed to be communicating with another by means of a gesture that looked like it was taking part in a mexican wave!
The prairie in front of the Rockies front range had loads of these prairie dogs. They could also been seen on rough ground either side of some of the motorways leading into Denver.
Much higher up in the Rockies were these yellow bellied marmots. We took a cog railway up to the top of 14,000ft Pike’s Peak where these furry cat sized creatures were quite at home amongst the snow patches.
Chipmunks were much smaller creatures. Here is one perched on top of a wall.
The biggest thrill for me was seeing this hefty beast – a black bear! It was sauntering on high land at the top of a deep gorge, Black Canyon of the Gunnison. You can see that trees have been scorched and damaged from a recent wild fire.
I was very excited telling a park ranger all about our sighting. So much so that he gave me a patch which I’ve sewn onto my rucksack!
Black bears are common all over Colorado and Oregon. Although delighted to see one from the car I really didn’t want to encounter one whilst out walking. This sign tells people what to do if they do come across a bear.
At least I didn’t have to worry about this pair of mule deer. And they didn’t seem too worried about me either!
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 