Operation SNRF Episode 24 - Anticipation

This will be my second-to-last camera check for this season. I'm heading to London for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards in a couple days, and when I return I'll be scrambling to get ready for a trip to South Africa. The road through Lassen Park will undoubtedly close while I'm in Africa, so this was a final battery swap to get me through until the last camera check of the season. A couple cool findings...

[@MrPhotoMojo]

Thanks for letting us ride along...I did notice that my early Canon 7D seem to have less battery life than my 5D. Not sure what is going on but a Spider web is a good guess. The leaping squirrel is cool and the Pine Marten is sharp in the eye... Have a great trip in London...waiting for the last update...

[@jamesclifford3401]

Hope you have a great time in London and maybe some fox photos before heading to Africa, looks like 2024 was a great year for you and it's still not finished, roll on winter.

[@RandyRobbinsPhotography]

Thank you! Yes, bring on the winter season!

[@vireogilvus]

Do fox eat chickens? Absolutely! Grouse and rabbits/hares are super important above-snow prey that remain active and accessible in winter.

[@RandyRobbinsPhotography]

For sure!

[@diegoforest]

Some gotta be those chipmunks scurrying around. Where is the water source? Why would any thing be up there without water?

[@RandyRobbinsPhotography]

There is still snow on the peak above here... a few pockets of meltwater here and there, and a couple lakes not too far away.

[@ShawnDienhart]

Given the unbiased opinion from the PhD and the somewhat biased view from the other person, I still think they are two different foxes. Sometimes mistakes are made, or details forgotten in settings where time has passed, job priorities change, and personnel exchanging info without time to keep good records due to lack of adequate staffing.

[@RandyRobbinsPhotography]

I see your point, however there were so few of these animals collared, and she was the person in charge of that study, putting the collars on herself. When she says "that's the only collar on that whole side of Lassen Park", that carries a lot of weight. I admit I'm kind of hoping that there's a better change of getting an UNcollared animal than a collared one in the photo I want... so I want to believe it was the same animal and there's only one collar out there.

[@ShawnDienhart]

@@RandyRobbinsPhotography I completely understand.