In the dying months of winter, I watch talus for the emergence of Yellow-bellied Marmots from their long hibernation. For many years, that first observation was in March, but then it began to shift until it was well into February. The result of global warming? Maybe, but a more likely culprit might be found in the year-to-year vagaries of snow that covers the talus, rather than a systematic shift. There is just no point in heading out with all that cold, white stuff covering everything.
A couple of Yellow-bellied Marmots emerge in a portion of the talus only recently bereft of snow.
the composition of this picture is wonderful. The marmots really knew how to pose