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Bowregard
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PostFri Aug 16, 2019 8:28 am 
Deer in my back yard. This may sound common place for many but when I woke up one morning to the site of two deer mating less than 20 feet away in my fully fenced back yard in suburbia I was a bit shocked. To get into my yard they had to walk a long narrow rockery above my driveway and jump a low picket fence.

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kvpair
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PostFri Aug 16, 2019 8:37 am 
I've seen otters in Lake Sammamish in the early AM before. They like to park on the boat docks. Before I saw them, I'd no idea that there were any in Lake Sammamish.

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hikerbiker
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 8:09 am 
Hoary Marmot spotted on a rock outcrop on my property here recently. Surprising to see one at 2200' elevation east side of the Cascades so far from the alpine we normally see them in. A lot better than the scorpion I found in the garage yesterday!

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostWed Sep 04, 2019 12:29 pm 
hikerbiker wrote:
Hoary Marmot spotted on a rock outcrop on my property here recently. Surprising to see one at 2200' elevation east side of the Cascades so far from the alpine we normally see them in.
Interesting. Yellow bellied marmots show up in some unexpected and fairly low elevation places. I've seen them along the river walk in downtown Spokane, Palouse Falls SP and Cowiche Canyon near Yakima. I haven't seen hoary marmots in places like that though.

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Sculpin
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PostSun Sep 08, 2019 8:19 am 
hikerbiker wrote:
Hoary Marmot spotted on a rock outcrop on my property here recently. Surprising to see one at 2200' elevation east side of the Cascades so far from the alpine we normally see them in.
They are a nuisance on the golf course at Sun Lakes State Park. They are usually referred to as "Columbia Ground Squirrels" or groundhogs when they are found at low elevation.

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Sep 08, 2019 4:37 pm 
Sculpin wrote:
They are a nuisance on the golf course at Sun Lakes State Park. They are usually referred to as "Columbia Ground Squirrels" or groundhogs when they are found at low elevation.
Huh. I thought groundhog was a distinctive type of marmot, same thing as a woodchuck. I also thought they were exclusively in the Eastern U.S. (I saw some in Ohio), but wikipedia has a map of their habitat showing a swath thru B.C. and a tiny sliver in NE Washington, northern Idaho and NW Montana. Columbia ground squirrels are something entirely different. Tiny compared to a marmot. No reason to confuse them. If anyone is referring to a marmot as a Columbia ground squirrel, that's kinda weird. Or maybe it really is a Columbia ground squirrel, in which case it's not a marmot.

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Brucester
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PostTue Jan 07, 2020 7:30 pm 
And mammals??? An otter sunning on a swim platform on Lake Washington the otter day.... An OTTER, totally unexpected! up.gif

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mike
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PostWed Jan 08, 2020 5:02 pm 
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
Columbia ground squirrels are something entirely different. Tiny compared to a marmot. No reason to confuse them. If anyone is referring to a marmot as a Columbia ground squirrel, that's kinda weird. Or maybe it really is a Columbia ground squirrel, in which case it's not a marmot.
So what is this? Pateros. Columbia in the background. Smaller than the usual alpine marmots.

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PostWed Jan 08, 2020 6:55 pm 
mike wrote:
So what is this?
That's a yellow-bellied marmot.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostWed Jan 08, 2020 11:09 pm 
pcg wrote:
That's a yellow-bellied marmot.
I concur up.gif edited--definitely typically smaller than hoary marmots from what I've seen. Hoary are what you would most likely see in the sub alpine/alpine in the Cascades.

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Chief Joseph
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PostThu Jan 09, 2020 1:56 am 
pcg wrote:
mike wrote:
So what is this?
That's a yellow-bellied marmot.
He is a coward?

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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DigitalJanitor
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PostThu Jan 09, 2020 2:20 pm 
mike wrote:
So what is this? Pateros. Columbia in the background. Smaller than the usual alpine marmots.
Def rock chuck, aka 'yellow marmot'. They looove pancaking out on flat rocks in the sun getting warm, especially in the spring. Unfortunately this can also include laying out on warm asphalt with predictable results. The babies are adorable. Unless they're digging under your foundation or some such, lol.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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RichP
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PostFri Jan 10, 2020 9:46 am 
DigitalJanitor wrote:
The babies are adorable.
They are! Seen at Palouse Falls.
There are many marmots and their young living around the parking area. They seem unfazed by the people coming and going.
There are many marmots and their young living around the parking area. They seem unfazed by the people coming and going.
Mom. Apparently this is a yellow bellied marmot which is different from the hoary marmot in subalpine areas. Looks pretty yellow to me.
Mom. Apparently this is a yellow bellied marmot which is different from the hoary marmot in subalpine areas. Looks pretty yellow to me.

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pcg
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PostFri Jan 10, 2020 12:21 pm 
Hoary marmot for comparison.

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Sculpin
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PostTue Jan 14, 2020 9:03 am 
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
Columbia ground squirrels are something entirely different.
Oops looks like I blew that one. frown.gif But no real difference between eastern "groundhogs" and our Columbia basin marmots, right?

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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