{"id":37510,"date":"2016-03-28T06:19:38","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T12:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=37510"},"modified":"2026-03-05T07:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:24:17","slug":"a-box-elder-county-yellow-bellied-marmot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/28\/a-box-elder-county-yellow-bellied-marmot\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Box Elder County Yellow-bellied Marmot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BoxBox Elder County Yellow-bellied Marmot – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday started off with gray clouds then the skies cleared for the most part during mid morning and then later became gray again before the sun set. I visited Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and then headed north towards the road to Promontory Point in Box Elder County.<\/p>\n

At Bear River MBR there were more birds than a week earlier but not many that were close enough to photograph when the light was good. I found between 12 to 15 Long-billed Curlews and that got my blood pumping! I didn’t see Tundra Swans but I heard them way off in the distance, they will soon be on the wing to their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

Because of my keen eyesight, I found several Golden Eagles. Due to circumstances beyond my control I missed an opportunity to photograph one of them on a road killed rabbit and when it took flight the light was awful.<\/p>\n

The Rough-legged Hawks that were there a week before were missing and have probably migrated north to breed. I saw Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcons, Bald Eagles, and Northern Harriers but haven’t seen my first of the year Swainson’s Hawk yet.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I wrote that I hadn’t seen my first of the year kingbird<\/span><\/a> and I am happy to say I saw one yesterday, a Western Kingbird on a wire.<\/p>\n

I also saw two Yellow-bellied Marmots, one I couldn’t get images of because it crossed a gravel road and then hid in boulders next to the road. I was able to take images of a Box Elder County Yellow-bellied Marmot further south next to the road near the foothills of the Promontory Mountains.<\/p>\n

The light could have been better but it was after noon by the time I photographed it. Still, I couldn’t resist photographing the marmot on the lichen-covered rocky outcropping.<\/p>\n

In the interest of full disclosure I did clone out some very out of focus grass stems that were at the bottom right side of the frame. I don’t often use the cloning brush in Photoshop for anything more than dust spot removal but I felt those grass stems need to go.<\/p>\n

It felt good to get out knowing the forecast for the next three days is dreary due to a slow moving weather front. Spring time in Utah.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Yellow-bellied Marmot photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was able to take images of a Box Elder County Yellow-bellied Marmot further south next to the road near the foothills of the Promontory Mountains. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1148,26,231],"tags":[4004,3466,4098,7017,3291,5771,5854,2241,4984,8083,4470,5699,4018,165,4032,5869,4029],"class_list":["post-37510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","category-yellow-bellied-marmots","tag-adult","tag-cliffs","tag-desert","tag-foothills","tag-lichen","tag-lichen-covered","tag-marmot","tag-marmota-flaviventris","tag-marmots","tag-outcropping","tag-rocks","tag-rocky","tag-sky","tag-spring","tag-wildlife-photography","tag-yellow-belly-marmot","tag-yellow-bellied-marmot"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-promontory-mia-mcpherson-0766.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-9L0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101349,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/04\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-in-a-crack-in-some-rocks\/","url_meta":{"origin":37510,"position":0},"title":"Yellow-bellied Marmot Pup In A Crack In Some Rocks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted to find and photograph a Yellow-bellied Marmot pup peeking out of a crack in some lichen-covered rocks on the 1st of April in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Box Elder County"","block_context":{"text":"Box Elder County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/box-elder-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-bellied Marmot pup in a crack in the rocks, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-in-a-crack-mia-mcpherson-8888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-in-a-crack-mia-mcpherson-8888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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McPherson","date":"April 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I have taken thousands of images of Yellow-bellied Marmots where the marmots have been closer but very few of them that include as much habitat as this photo does.","rel":"","context":"In "Box Elder County"","block_context":{"text":"Box Elder County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/box-elder-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Yellow-bellied Marmot high up on a cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-on-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-on-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/box-elder-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-bellied Marmot pup near a shallow cave, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-mia-mcpherson-0506.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-mia-mcpherson-0506.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-mia-mcpherson-0506.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yellow-bellied-marmot-pup-mia-mcpherson-0506.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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