I'm back in the field after leaving my well-trained crew in the field for the past month and a half. Up valley is still very winter-like. Down valley is finally (and oh-so-slowly) melting out. We have a lot of animals down valley and folks have been seeing some GREAT social behavior. Up valley there are a lot of predators--at least two bears (one with triplets!) and Gina saw a Mt. lion today!!! The marmots are emerging more slowly--which is a good thing given all the snow. I expect late litters...
This is going to be one-hellofa wildflower year. Since I hope we're beyond late season freezes and the flower have not really started blooming there will be no early season killing frosts. So once the growing season starts in a big way, it's going to be a big flower year. Book your tickets now to the Colorado high country.
We're waiting with baited breath for the road to open next week; I walked in today. Much to do... More as we have more to share!
Blumstein Lab at UCLA (Team Marmot) reports on adventures and research findings from our long-term study of yellow-bellied marmots at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, U.S.A.
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