Dale Matson
Click On Photographs To Enlarge
Mature Ram
There was an excellent turnout of
about 25 folks for the first fieldtrip of 2018. The fieldtrip is made possible
by the efforts of the SNBS Foundation and the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
The group gathered at 9am at the
CDFW office where Dr. John Wehausen gave a 40-minute presentation of the
background for the SNBS being considered a separate subgroup from the desert
bighorns. This discovery based on his lengthy and precise research led to the SNBS
being listed as separate and endangered species. He also described the reasons
for the migration from their high sierra summer range to lower on the east side
being access to seasonal food as much as to escape the high snows and bitter
cold of the high elevations in winter. Unfortunately the lower areas make them
more vulnerable to predators’.
Additionally, Dr. Virginia Chadwick,
a board member of the SNBS Foundation handed out background information and
promotional material for the organization. The CDFW personnel were there to
help us locate a search area after we departed. It was determined beforehand
that we would look in the Sawmill Canyon area for the sheep. There was
carpooling to reduce the number of vehicles because of limited parking at the
search area.
It was a favorable day for searching
because of the mild temperatures and sunny skies. Many folks had spotting
scopes and some had binoculars. After our arrival some sheep were located in a
distant rocky draw above us and to our left. I was able to see them via a
spotting scope someone had set up but I never saw them with my 10 power
binoculars nor did I get any photos of those sheep.
Someone else located a group of
about 15 sheep which included 2 rams directly above us on an alluvial fan.
Their white posteriors contrasted with the new green grass. They grazed in unhurried
fashion except for a couple of times something caused them to run for a short
distance. They occasionally looked at our group with eyes nearly as good as our
vision using spotting scopes. This is their main defense against predators such
as mountain lions.
Someone located a third group of
about 9 sheep including 2 mature rams and a young ram. They were sky lined high
and to our left. Even my cropped shots are very small.
It was both educational and
satisfying experience to see these endangered animals. The population was on an
upswing to about 600 until last year’s severe winter contributed to the death
of many sheep.
I used my Sony A7R3 and a Sony
400mm lens with a 1.4X extender. The sheep were quite a distance away and my
photos are rather small even cropped to about an 800mm equivalence.
Please help support the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation.
their website is here: http://sierrabighorn.org/
their website is here: http://sierrabighorn.org/
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