Thursday, February 4, 2010

Gray Squirrel

The bird seed I put out yesterday attracted this fellow as well as the Dark-eyed Juncos. There appear to be a couple of different kinds of gray squirrels (the Eastern Gray Squirrel and the Western Gray Squirrel). But the "eastern" ones don't stay in the east - in fact a lot of them (or their great-great-great-grandparents) have moved out west and are considered as interlopers. And some of the "gray" squirrels are black so it would seem that it might be time to consider renaming the various types according to characteristics that meaningfully distinguish them.
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5 comments:

  1. JoJoFebruary 4, 2010 at 8:22 AM

    Years ago, b/f we got our first dog, there was a grey squirrel that used to come right up to our slider and look inside. So we started leaving nuts out for her. It got to where she'd take them right out of our hands. The following spring, she showed up with a baby in tow. We thought it was so cute that she was showing her offspring where to get good eats!

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  2. Dean LewisFebruary 4, 2010 at 10:31 AM

    Clicking on this one for a closer view sure shows the high rez!

    As cute as these guys are, they will eat the larger food/nuts put out for the bigger birds. Some hanging bird-feeders have special 'shrouds' to prevent squirrels from climbing down.

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  3. KimFebruary 5, 2010 at 11:47 AM

    Superbly captured! Kudos and a wonderful shot.

    As far as renaming. . . I think his name should be Sam. :-)
    -Kim

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  4. ABFebruary 6, 2010 at 1:41 AM

    Cute little character. He seems to eyeing the camera suspiciously

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  5. Stefan JanssonFebruary 7, 2010 at 3:03 PM

    Great shot. A very familiar scene. I have squirrels visiting my veranda every week looking for bird food.

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