Ryser 

11 creative works found

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  Pika Tending His Field
  by Jay Ryser

  I found a whole new den of pika (or is it pikas? I can never remember). Larry the Pika lives a little above 14,000ft, with some minor greenery. This little den of pika (or is it pikas? Man, that’s gonna bug me) live around 13,500ft – enough of a difference that there’s much more green. A couple of adults and what look alike a young pika – about half the size of the adults. You probably can’t tell, but this is one of the the younger pika. The green makes him much easier to spot and adds a much needed splash of color.

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  Pika-Gram
  by Jay Ryser

  No alpine floral delivery job too big or too small. Same day service available. Neither rain nor sleet or blizzard or avalanche will keep him from his delivery. I watched this little pika gathering food for close to an hour. He (or she) tirelessly ran out to gather grass, plants, & flowers, and ran back to sort his (or her) harvest into tiny little hay bales to dry in the sun for storage over winter. If you look closely, you can see the tiny little flowers. I got lots of practice panning and taking action shots. Location: Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  Valentine Pika
  by Jay Ryser

  Flowers?!? For me? You shouldn’t have! I was amazed at the diversity of plants this little guy was gathering. Big mouthfuls of plants, grasses, and flowers – big and small. Pikas are considered an endangered species due to climate change. They’re considered a “canary in the coal mine” species and are very susceptible to climbing temperatures and seem to be moving to higher and higher altitudes to escape the heat. But there’s a limit to how high they can climb (eventually they run out of mountain). And because of the higher temperatures, they can’ t migrate to a higher peak as that would mean descending to a lower (and hotter) environment to do so. Location: Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  Between a Rock and a Photographer
  by Jay Ryser

  This little guy seemed more curious than anything. He alternated between standing up for a photo op and dropping down to lick minerals from the soil. Location: Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  Oh, A Wise Guy, Eh?
  by Jay Ryser

  I was debating between a Mortal Kombat theme or more of a 3 Stooges theme – but I just can’t resist the 3 Stooges. I saw these 2 marmots and thought they’d make a nice shot together. Before I knew it, they were going at each other with slaps and biting. I’m not sure if it was a territorial thing or something else (neither was particularly verbal about it afterwards). I was in Program mode and quickly dropped the aperture from f/2.8 to f/9 to try to make sure they were both in the same focal plane, but in doing so I also dropped the shutter speed to 1/25 sec, so things came out blurrier than I hoped. Too blurry, or does it give a sense of motion?

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  Pika Stink Eye
  by Jay Ryser

  Pikas seem to have 2 speeds – frantic running and stopping to perch on the top of a rock. And when they perch on a rock, they have the huddled down pose with their shoulders bunched around their head – it looks a little awkward. This one has had about enough of me watching him, I believe. It looks like he’s giving me the stink-eye. Pikas are an endangered species due to climate change. Location: Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  STOCK-Smooching Marmots
  by Jay Ryser

  As much fun as 1 marmot is, it’s always nice to get a little interaction in the shot. These two were nuzzling and smooching in the early morning light . I find myself anthropomorphizing a bit, but with animals with this much personality, it’s tough not to.

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  Golden Marmot
  by Jay Ryser

  Well, the marmot’s not golden, just the light. I tried to get him to do 2 things – neither he did. The first thing was to try to get a little of that golden light reflected in his eyes – but, NO, he’d never face the light. The second was to catch him squeaking. He’d squeak out a warning, but I’d miss it by a fraction of a second. I hung around with him for a good 10 minutes trying to catch a squeak in a frame. When I caught myself yelling, “Squeak, damn you! Squeak!” I knew it was time to move on. Honestly – first they refuse to wear the little lederhosen outfits I slave over a hot sewing machine to make for them, then they won’t even pose properly. Sheesh. (please, no angry letters – I’m kidding) Marmots are considered an at risk and endangered species Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  STOCK-Squeaking Marmot
  by Jay Ryser

  Marmots are considered one of the few altruistic species on this planet – they seem to have a selfless concern for their peers. They demonstrate this by squeaking out a warning to their fellows – keeping themselves in danger to alert others. The squeak is a high pitched noise that can be surprisingly loud given their size. It’s common to hear them squeak as you move through their territory. Unfortunately, marmots and other alpine mammals (pikas, for instance) are at risk due to climate change. It took several takes to get the timing right to capture a squeak. Mt Evans Wilderness Area

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  Fleeing Baby Marmot
  by Jay Ryser

  Yesterday was apparently the marmot version of Bring Your Kids to Work Day. I must have seen half a dozen or more of these little guys with their parents. There seem to be 2 in a litter. I’m not sure how old they are, but they’re about half the size of their parents. They had a great safety plan too – the parents would hoot out a warning and the little guys would scatter. The parents would continue to hoot and run around – the impression I had was they were trying to maintain my attention while their young ran away to escape. As I’ve mentioned before, marmots are considered to be one of the few altruistic species on this planet – they selflessly keep themselves in danger to warn others of potential danger. That certainly seemed to be the case while protecting their young today (not that I’m much of a threat – I’m mostly harmless). Marmots are an at risk species due to climate change. This is a hand held shot – I usually try to use a tripod. Cropped a bit too. Mt Evans Wilderness Area.

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  Marmot Portrait
  by Jay Ryser

  How could I resist taking this guys picture? Early morning sun, standing tall, gazing into the distance. Marmots and other small alpine mammals are t risk due to climate change. Mt Evans Wilderness Area