Nature clicks #128 - American Pika

American Pika  

Back to nature related photography today. Joan and I spent quite some time to look out for one of our favorite animals, the American Pica, during our trip to the Rocky Mountains. Knowing a little bit about their habitat, steep boulder-covered hillsides at an altitude above 8,000 feet, helps to find them. This photo was made on the slope of 14,264 feet high Mount Evans. I had this pika here already in my viewfinder when a hawk suddenly soared over the rocks and the pika disappeared between the boulders with cyberspeed. It took ten minutes before it showed up again and continued sunbathing. But maybe it was just on the watch from this well exposed rock hanging over a very deep valley. I sure enjoyed watching these critters and was very happy to make some good clicks.