Quite a mouthful

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Quite a mouthful

February 7, 2013 by Mike Powell

Although this looks like a fall shot, with the faded leaves still on the trees and the squirrel gathering materials to insulate his nest, I took the photo this past weekend.

When I first saw the squirrel, I couldn’t figure out what he had in his mouth, but I could see that it was bigger than the acorns on which I usually see squirrels gnawing. With our recent cold weather, I thought that perhaps the squirrel had become an omnivore and had snatched up a field mouse or other such creature to supplement his diet.

The reality is much more benign. It looks like he is merely gathering materials for his nest. According to Wikipedia, one of the breeding seasons for the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) runs from December to February. It is likely that the activity that I photographed is related to preparations for the potentially imminent arrival of baby squirrels, which normally are born in February or March (or May to June).

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Huntley Meadows Park, squirrel | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on February 7, 2013 at 6:03 am | Reply Renard Moreau

[ Smiles ] Great picture; I also enjoyed the info that came along with it!
- on February 7, 2013 at 6:43 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Often I enjoy the writing part of the my blog as much as the posting of my photos. It lets me be creative in a lot of different ways.
  - on February 7, 2013 at 6:47 am Renard Moreau
    
    [ Smiles ] Great! Keep it up, Mike!
on February 7, 2013 at 6:27 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

I used to watch squirrels doing this-their nests can be quite large.
on February 7, 2013 at 11:58 am | Reply caleephotography

What a fantastic picture, I love it!! Ooh Mike if you’re lucky you’ll see some baby squirrels soon 🙂
on February 8, 2013 at 12:58 am | Reply lylekrahn

Beautiful
on February 9, 2013 at 6:25 am | Reply anisjarossi

Great capture .
- on February 9, 2013 at 6:37 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Squirrels are a pretty common sight, but I like to photograph them anyways and sometimes I get interesting shots like this one.
  - on February 9, 2013 at 12:13 pm anisjarossi
    
    It is always very difficult to catch them , as they are very rapid , and one need a lot of patience . I was never able to get just a simple shot .