Pygmy Rabbit site near Bannack State Park, Dillon, Idaho
Thank you to Paul Carter for sending me the following report for a Pygmy Rabbit site in Idaho. Seems like its been a really good year for this species.
Jon
Reservoir Creek road turns west off Bannack Bench Rd a couple miles south of Bannack State Park (about 20 miles west of Dillon, Idaho).
At about 3.8 miles down Reservoir Creek Road there is a farmhouse; and beyond that at about from 4.1 to 4.8 miles is a sage area where I had two sightings of Pygmy Rabbit.
On 7 Oct 2013, shortly before dusk, I had fleeting views of a grey ball that gave about 4 high-pitched squeaks as it bolted into cover after I surprised it in sage area on the edge of a gully (about 4.7 mile from the junction and where a track turns south). This was not a great view so we returned the next morning at 7.40 am and saw another at 8 am; it was resting/sunning itself at the entrance of its burrow about 50 m off the road, but visible from the road.
The staff at Bannack State Park also said that they have been seen near the historic cemetery just outside the old mining town, but I had no luck there. It is also reported off Dyce Creek Road but I had no luck there either.
Paul Carter
2 Comments
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Jon Hall
Thanks John – I think now is the time to look for them too. I hope this blog has played a part but I think its more than that to go from no sightings to several sightings in the past few months. So there’s something in the air too … Go get them! Jon
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John Fox
It has been a banner year for Pygmy Rabbits, at least for mammal fans being able to find them. And it’s almost entirely because of this blog, Jon!
Matt has been in Boise for years and I think he’s been an active naturalist all along, but he hadn’t seen one. I missed seeing it in Montana, but birding by ear is such a developed art that hearing it was just as good, in a way.
Now there are at least three good places to try. Cool beans, IMHO.