Yesterday morning (when we finally got some decent light around here) I wanted a change in venue so I headed for the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City. This cute little Uinta Ground Squirrel entertained me for about 15 minutes with its behaviors and antics.
- Largely because of obstructions in front of the squirrel these 8 images are only of documentary quality but I find nothing wrong with good documentation of bird and critter behaviors. I don’t know the sex of the squirrel but for the sake of convenience I’ll refer to it as a male. All photos are presented in the order they were taken. Image techs for these photos are at or near: 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm
It had rained heavily the night before (damn, did my pickup ever get muddy from driving on those dirt/gravel roads!) and the squirrel was having a breakfast of grass so he was soaked through and through. It almost appeared to me as if he had spent an entire cycle inside a washing machine. Water droplets can easily be seen on the grasses in the background.
He had been eating when I first approached but he assumed this alert posture for a few moments before he went back to his meal.
I actually laughed out loud while watching him eating the grass. He would use his dexterous paws as if they were hands to place the end of a tender young grass stem in his mouth and then…
release it with his paws…
and the grass stem would begin to disappear…
as if he was sucking in a piece of green spaghetti. It reminded me of the sneaky games my sister Mona and I used to play with spaghetti at the kitchen table when we thought our parents weren’t looking. Mom definitely wouldn’t put up with those kinds of hijinks at the table.
But soon he’d apparently eaten his fill so he turned to face the sun and began to dry himself off by licking his sodden fur. It was cold in the mountains that early in the morning (37 degrees F.) and he was sopping wet so I imagine he was uncomfortably chilled.
Here his tongue can be seen as it sops up some of the water on his right front leg.
In fact immediately after licking somewhere on his body he would usually (maybe always) flick his tongue in and out as if he was relishing having a drink.
For part of my time with him I was distracted by a male American Goldfinch singing in a tree to my left (no, I didn’t get any decent shots) so I may have missed some interesting behavioral photos of the squirrel.
If so, maybe next time…
Ron
Ron – for a couple years when we first moved to Arizona I called them Albert Squirrels. Then one day we were at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff and I happened upon a little monument that told all about the “Abert” squirrels 🙂
Everett
You so often start my days with a smile. Sometimes a much needed smile. My father didn’t like it so we never got spaghetti. Rice yes. Which the dog hated. She would suck the gravy off and blow it across the room. Not viewed with parental pleasure.
Love the squirrel and envy you the rain.
Oh, I can just picture a dog doing that! I’m laughing myself silly at the thought! *wipes away tears from laughing so hard* Fortunately, our last pitbull was a very enthusiastic eater, which was great when she was on a bunch of pills at the end of her run — she’d take them like treats and even do tricks for them.
A dog doing tricks for its pills – that’s a pretty neat trick in itself!
When I give Bindi pills she does tricks, too…knows every trick in the book to avoid swalloeing them…spits them out every time..unless wrapped (covertly) in cheese spread and sliced pepperoni,,,,
Thanks, EC. I eat quite a lot of rice and I like it but just the SMELL of Spanish rice makes me retch – literally! It’s a long story but it involves the cafeteria at my elementary school.
Oh those memories. It is unadulterated milk for me. Our school took its deliveries early and left them in the sun until recess. For much of summer there was vomiting.
Still hste the stuff!!! And creamed eggs,,,yuk!!! Even if we were lucky to have them…and thst shaved meat stuff, creamed on toast!!!! Yes, at school!!!
“and that shaved meat stuff”
Chipped beef.
So adorable! I have never seen one of these critters before – I sure am due for a trip out west! Thanks once again for sharing.
Hope you make it out here sometime, Joanne.
This looks like what we called a “Pot Gut” growing up when we would go camping in the Uintahs. Have you heard that term Ron and, if you have, is this a Pot Gut? I always hated the name and have wondered if they had another name.
Yes, some folks ingloriously call them potguts, Brad.
This guy sure is cute! We spent some time watching several of them at Yellowstone NP a few years back but it’s been a long time. I don’t think I’ve ever known before that any kind of squirrel would eat grass. Always something new to learn. A good thing.
Susan, these guys eat a lot of grass – also forbs and even a few insects.
Very enjoyable! I loved the spaghetti reference. We liked to slide noodles to the dog to watch him slurp them up.
I used to do that with my dog too, Arwen. The longer the spaghetti strand the more fun it was to watch, especially when I deliberately wrapped one end of it around his snout. Spaghetti is sticky ya know…
Having raised a couple of squirrels blasted out of their nests in a neighbor’s trees by “landscspers'” spraying fior Gypsy moths, I particularly enjoyed this series. I love shots of birds, clouds, flowers, insects, landscspes and other critters. We never spray and maybe because of the birds never have a problem, either. They spray and do.
That tells a story about spraying, that’s for sure.
Adorable! My neighbors and I share several squirrels and it’s always fun to watch their antics. My neighbors’ mileage may vary, but I’m perfectly happy to share my oranges with them and the 3 am opossum.
So exactly what sort of sneaky games did you and Mona play, or is this like The Noodle Incident from Calvin and Hobbes — often referenced, but never explained? 😱 😉
Marty, most of our hijinks were pulled on each other and with me being older and more devious Mona got the worst of it.
Marty K why I am not in the slightest bit surprised to find another Calvin and Hobbes fan. Loved those guys – and still reread them.
Me too! I have all the books. In my family, there has been much speculation as to the nature of The Noodle Incident over the years.
What an enjoyable series of images, Ron! I still haven’t decided if I’m a birder or photographer, but based on how easily distracted I am by other animals, bugs, sunsets, flowers, etc., I suspect I know the answer.
No need to categorize yourself, Wally – just do what feels natural for you!
These photos were a real treat–loved those bright eyes !
Now that Everett is in Arizona, he should plan a trip up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon so he can add the beautiful Kaibab squirrel with its white plumey tail to his list of Arizona
squirrels ! If he is up at dawn, he’ll see Kaibabs with those glorious tails ( and white ear-tassels ) backlighted by the rising sun…….
Kaibab squirrels are stunning critters, Kris. I’ve seen them a time or two but that was before my photography days.
Really cute photos Ron. I’m sure many “feathered” photographers ignore squirrels, but they can really provide some very cute pictures. We have ground, Abert, and Arizona Grey Squirrels who all from time to time can give us some pretty neat photo opps. Please send some of that rain down here – we are getting desperate.
Everett Sanborn
Prescott AZ
Everett, I remember teaching about the evolution of Abert and Kaibab Squirrels and how they evolved independently because they were separated from each other by the Grand Canyon. Cute little guys…
Fun! The wet grass can definitely soak critters (and us). Cute with his tongue sticking out.;) I really hadn’t noticed “ears” on them before – of course, not really looking either! The grass appears to be pretty lush there at the moment – finally “greening up” here with the last rain we got tho much grass is racing to set seed already. Gold Finches have started to appear here – they definitely brighten the day. Spaghetti was always a wonderful “toy” when one could get away with it! 🙂
I couldn’t get away with the spaghetti thing very often, Judy. My mom had an eagle eye!