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Fletcher Wildlife Garden | all galleries >> Previous FWG blogs >> 2011 Blogs >> FWG blog: February 2011 > Grey squirrel with nest material
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24-FEB-2011 Christine Hanrahan

Grey squirrel with nest material

Unfortunately, this is not a great photo, but is the best of the few I managed to take. I wanted to get a photo of this squirrel with her mouthful of nest material which she had scraped from a juniper. While walking along the service road between the Old Field and the Ash Woods, I heard what sounded like someone in the tall juniper breaking off branches. I couldn't see a person, and for a brief mad moment thought someone had climbed up into the tree intent on damage! Well, someone had, but it was a four-legged critter. This grey squirrel was vigorously pulling off strips of bark. When she had a big mouthful she leaped across the service road and into the Ash woods. I followed her as best I could as she rushed off a top speed through the treetops. Eventually she stopped and looked down at me as if to berate me for following. This is when I managed to get a few poor shots at a very high ISO. She just sat there so I left, as it was clear she was not going to move toward her nest until I did so.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
1/60s f/6.3 at 100.0mm iso800 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
Guest 25-Feb-2011 02:09
It would have been amusing to video the chase - you bounding along in pursuit of the squirrel who had a mouthful of stolen tree bark. I wonder what she was thinking as she looked down and chattered at you.
The squirrels in my yard seem to favor the bark of Pagoda Dogwood. They can strip quite a lot off the twigs and branches in the winter.
Claudia
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