Cottontail Rabbit, Bobcat Ridge Natural Area (Larimer County, Colorado)

“Find the prey, find the predator“. That has been one of my mantras while working on photographing bobcats and other elusive species.  Bobcats are generally doing one of three things; eating, sleeping, and something else I won’t get into right now.  If you want to see them you need to meet them at the dinner table.  I’ve been seeing cottontails daily at Bobcat Ridge and often snap a photo as a consolation prize when my bobcat efforts don’t pay out.

There are three different species of cottontail in Colorado; mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii), desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), and eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). I’m pretty sure I have photographed all three species as part of the critter project, but they have proven to be one of the more difficult identification challenges. They are typically identified by range and elevation but ear length can also be used to make the call. Desert cottontails typically have longer ears that are full of capillaries to disseminate heat whereas mountain cottontails have shorter ears to reduce heat loss and frostbite.

My best guess is that this individual is a mountain cottontail.

Bull Moose Grazing, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

This may be the same moose I photographed last summer at Sprague Lake. Moose shed their antlers annually in late winter – I can’t wait to see him again this fall wearing a new set!

Some photos from around Boulder this past week…

A red fox with a manky tail gives me a sad look on Mt. Sanitas.

Dusky Grouse Hen, Mount Sanitas

Black Morph Fox Squirrel, Longmont

Downy Woodpecker, Estes Park

Coot Lake Cattails, Boulder

Sorry, I’ve been offline for the last few months and just busy with life. I’m really charged up for this summer and there are really exciting things on my schedule including some wildlife shoots and more exhibitions. I’ve also picked up some fun new equipment, which I’ll be talking more about later.

For now, here’s a photo I took walking the beach of Lake Michigan last summer – I hope you like it.