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.