Pika Time

Today’s post features one of my favorite subjects to photograph when I travel to the Colorado Rockies. The American Pika is a very small mammal, weighing only about 4 ounces. It feeds on an assortment of green plants and can often be spotted as it quickly runs between it’s source of plants and it’s den, located among rocks and boulders. Collecting green plants, it transports them back to the boulders and spreads them out to dry, similar to a haystack. This cache is stored inside the den over the winter. The pika does not hibernate, so it feeds on the dried grasses/flowers.

Pika cannot survive in warmer climates; they are typically found at higher altitudes where the temperatures stay about 70F or below. Many believe that this mammal is becoming threatened due to our warming climates.

Here are a few images I captured along the Mount Evans Highway in August:

American Pika

American Pika

American Pika

American Pika

American Pika

Photographic Equipment Used:

  • Canon 7D Mark 2 body
  • Canon 100mm-400mm, f/4.5 – f/5.6, IS lens
  • Handheld, with IS “On”
  • ISO 250 and ISO 500
  • Aperture f/22
  • Shutter 1/250 sec. to 1/2500 sec.

 

 

Posted in Mammals, Nature Photography, Travel Photography
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