Posts in Category: squirrel
Red Squirrel Story
Red Squirrel, Wells National Estuarine Research Center at Laudholm Farm, Wells ME
I took a late afternoon walk at Laudholm Farm (Wells National Estuarine Research Center) yesterday…down across the mini-bog, through the low-lying forest to the road to the beach, and around the boardwalk to the open fields and back to the farm buildings and the car. Just before I started the boardwalk section, I put my camera away in its bag so I could have both hands free to get a drink from the water bottle I carry in my vest, so, as I started down the boardwalk, I did not have my camera out an ready. “Now that’s not right” I thought, “what if I see something?” So I stopped to dig the camera out and get it turned on. I was still fumbling with it when I looked up and saw a Red Squirrel sitting on the boardwalk eating some kind of berry, not 20 feet in front of me. “Ah! There you go!” I thought. “Thanks for the reminder!”
The Squirrel, as it turned out, would probably have waited for me to get the camera out anyway. I got of a series of shots at 20 feet, zooming in and out for framing, and then took a step closer. Squirrel on the run! But it only ran another 20 feet down the boardwalk before it found another of those apparently irresistible berries, and stopped to eat it. More pics before I took a step closer. This continued for several hundred feet down the boardwalk, with the Squirrel searching the edge of the boardwalk for berries, until I finally told the Squirrel that I had played with him long enough and he would have to let me by so I could continue my walk. He hopped into the forest when I made it clear that I was not going to respect his 20 foot boundary any more. 🙂
I have lots of shots in forest shadow and a few in patches of sun…but this one with the dappled light…warm light due to the lateness of the day…is my favorite. It brings out the red in Red Squirrel very nicely.
Nikon P900 at 1400mm equivalent field of view. 1/125 @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.
And the moral of the story, of course, is “always have your camera ready!”
No Nut for You!
Grey Squirrel, Washington Oaks State Garden Park, Palm Coast, FL
I came upon this Grey Squirrel with an acorn, while photographing mostly dragonflies, at Washington Oaks Garden State Park in Palm Coast Florida. Washington Oaks is always good for flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, lizards, and some birds…as well as just the scenic beauty of the place. It is a great place for a morning of casual photography. I was there scouting for a field trip I have scheduled for tomorrow morning…which now looks unlikely to happen as rain is moving in. Glad I took the day to go down and check it out. I am never disappointed in Washington Oaks, and I certainly would have missed this squirrel!
Nikon P900 at 1500mm equivalent field of view. 1/125 @ ISO 560 @ f6.3. Program with -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Squirrelatude!
Big Grey Squirrel
This big Grey Squirrel in Cape May NJ was taking none of my guff! He had found a cache of acorns, and was busy fattening up for the winter He was not about to surrender the ground to me…at least not without quite a squirrel fuss. 🙂 This is a close to defensive posture as he got. As soon as he had assessed my threat (correctly;), the was back at the acorns.
Back in business
Sony HX400V at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. ISO 640 and 3200. Processed in Lightroom on my Windows tablet.
Red Squirrel!
Red Squirrel at Laudholm Farm
As I mentioned the last time I posted an image of a Red Squirrel, way back in the spring, we do not see them much in Southern Maine. They are, obviously, here, but they manage to say well out of sight most of the year. In fact I have not seen a single one since that day this spring. And I spend a lot of time in the woods, comparatively speaking. 🙂 Last Sunday, I went for a photoprowl at Laudholm Farm (The Well National Estuarine Research Center) and almost immediately saw this Red Squirrel scamper from the side of the path into a deep pile of brush, where it was, of course, almost completely hidden from my camera. So I clucked at it…doing my best to imitate an agitated squirrel…and, after a few moments, it popped up on a branch to answer the challenge. Way to go squirrel! It was, however, so dark in there under the old apple trees and in that brush pile that I had to, eventually, reduce the shutter speed to 1/160th before I came close to a proper exposure…and even then I was still maybe two stops under…and that was at ISO 1600. It is amazing how much detail the camera caught even 2 stops under exposed. A little work in Lightroom and this is an acceptable image. Or that is what I think. 🙂 And as a bonus, I saw a second Red Squirrel near the very end of my photoprowl, but despite my best clucking efforts, that one eluded a photograph. 🙁
Sony HX400V at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/160th @ ISO 1600 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Rock Squirrels Everywhere
I suspect that the animal with the highest biomass in the Tucson area must be the Rock Squirrel. They are everywhere…from the basin beside the Santa Cruz River Channel, up through the whole Sonoran Desert layer and into the Pinion-Juniper-Oak forest. We did not get that high but I suspect they also inhabit the pine forest at the tops of the mountains surrounding the basin as well. This specimen was half way up Sabino Canyon, just enjoying a snack on its rock couch in the shade.
Sony HX400V at 1200mm equivalent field of view. ISO 80 @ 1/320th @ f6.3. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Squirrel City
My first shots from the Desert Museum yesterday were of this family (presumably) of young Ground Squirrels. There were, as it turned out, Ground Squirrels everywhere on the grounds of the museum, but this was the only group we saw. Too cute.
Sony HX400V. Program with – 1/3 EV exposure compensation. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet. Whole I was concerned I was keeping the HX400V, the trip to the Desert Museum really showed what it is capable of. I like it! 🙂
Red Alert
I walked up on this Red Squirrel while he was busy, by the evidence around his mouth, with some dark gooey squirrel goodness and he barely had time to stamper up a tree to get out if the way. He was not happy about being interrupted and found a perch (pulpit?) above my head to tell me about it just long enough to get a few pics 🙂 This was at the Kennebunk Land Trust property at Secret Garden.
Sony HX400V at 950mm equivalent field of view. ISO 1600 @ 1/60th @ f6.3. Processed in Handy Photo on my tablet.
Red Squirrels in Love
It is rare, these days, to see a Red Squirrel in Southern Maine. They are here, of course, as they always have been, but their bolder, more adaptable, Grey cousins certainly dominate the landscape. The Reds have retreated. Or so it seems. Being highly territorial, with one female per territory, and heavily dependent on conifer cone seeds, in a mixed landscape like Southern Maine, they have always been restricted to appropriate habitat. Maybe I just don’t get to where they are very often. At any rate, I was surprised to see not one, but two, Red Squirrels along the Kennebunk Bridle Trail when I was last there looking for dragonflies. And, even more surprised to see them mating…right there in the trail…out in plain sight…and totally oblivious to my intrusion. In fact, they were so busy that I eventually walked to within 10 feet of them, taking photos all the way. I have lots of stills and two snippets of video. I finally had to walk by them to get home, and I was within 4 feet of them before they bolted. Since female Red Squirrels are promiscuous, and generally have a dozen partners in pursuit, this gentleman squirrel was making the most of having her all to himself.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet.
Too Cute the Squirrel
Like I say, I really quite like squirrels when they are not on our bird feeders. The little paws which they use so much like we use our hands, the big eyes, the pert ears and the bushy tail…what is not to like? This specimen is another from the park in Virginia which I visited last week. The squirrels were busy foraging and feeding. I am not sure what this one found but she decided on a nibble rather than a store. 🙂
Canon SX50HS. Program with – 1/3rd EV exposure compensation and iContrast. ISO 160 @ 1/160th @ f6.5. 1200mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Snapseed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.
Practicing for the squirrel Olympics!
I actually quite like squirrels. But I do find that their antics are a lot more attractive, a lot more fun, in a park in Virginia far far away from the birdseed on my back deck than they are at home. Strange how that works. Virginia had a cold snap while I was there, being at the edge of the Polar Vortex…it was 5 above zero on Tuesday morning, but by mid-day Thursday the temperatures were back up in the mid-forties, and the Squirrels were making up for lost time. Lots of foraging going on…but also lots of what I can only call play…unless of course there really is a Squirrel Olympics…then it would definitely be practice. This aspiring Squirrel acrobat was testing him (or her) self against gravity. How long can I cling? How flat can I get? It was such an odd pose that it tempted me to take way too many pictures…all of which are just about identical.
Canon SX50HS. Program with – 1/3rd EV exposure compensation and iContrast. ISO 320 @ 1/1000th @ f6.5. Processed in Snapseed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. Cropped slightly for composition.