Pika afoot (1 of 2)

Description:

While focusing on a native thistle that was in flower and oblivious to much else, I suddenly heard some small critter movement that was almost right at my feet. With a semi-macro lens in place that probably wasn't the best choice had there been time and not having been this close to this species before, I fired off a few shots.This American pika (Ochotona princeps princeps) was focused on its task and was seemingly unaware of me. It was chewing on these grass blades of which there were very few in the talus slope in which it lives, and then it gathered them up and headed back up the slope to its haystack.Sept 28, 2016, Brighton area, approx. 9000 ft elev.