Flying Squirrel

This morning I was trying to photograph migrating warblers before the next rain shower moved through. I saw this squirrel jump from a branch of a white cedar tree to the trunk. What was different about this jump was that it was more of a glide... the area where I live is full of red squirrels... they and the chipmunks follow me around and eat sunflower seeds when I am hand feeding my chickadees and RB Nuthatches. So I was quite surprise when the "red" squirrel turned out to be a "flier".

I see these guys every night because we feed them in our front lawn... in a large hanging bird feeder... they love peanut butter and sunflower seeds. But this was 10:00 in the morning. I had my 400 on the camera, so I snapped a few shots of him on the trunk. It was dark because of the rain showers, so I was shooting hand held at 1/60th of a second... so I was fortunate to get a decent shot. He ran up higher in the cedar and perched himself on a branch with his legs folded. I switched to my 70-200 and got the second shot. I can't recall seeing a flier in the day time in the forest... I presume because of the dark day he came out for a snack... these are the Northern Flying Squirrels so they are quite big, I call them the largest mouse ... They are really fun to watch gliding at night, especially in the wind.

Great shots DB, what a cutie......fliers are one type of squirrel I could actually put up with.

dbriz wrote in post #8613098
This morning I was trying to photograph migrating warblers before the next rain shower moved through. I saw this squirrel jump from a branch of a white cedar tree to the trunk. What was different about this jump was that it was more of a glide... the area where I live is full of red squirrels... they and the chipmunks follow me around and eat sunflower seeds when I am hand feeding my chickadees and RB Nuthatches. So I was quite surprise when the "red" squirrel turned out to be a "flier".

I see these guys every night because we feed them in our front lawn... in a large hanging bird feeder... they love peanut butter and sunflower seeds. But this was 10:00 in the morning. I had my 400 on the camera, so I snapped a few shots of him on the trunk. It was dark because of the rain showers, so I was shooting hand held at 1/60th of a second... so I was fortunate to get a decent shot. He ran up higher in the cedar and perched himself on a branch with his legs folded. I switched to my 70-200 and got the second shot. I can't recall seeing a flier in the day time in the forest... I presume because of the dark day he came out for a snack... these are the Northern Flying Squirrels so they are quite big, I call them the largest mouse ... They are really fun to watch gliding at night, especially in the wind.

very cool. i'm a huge squirrel fan and i've never seen one of those guys. nice job .

ed rader

Nice pics! I like your dissertation on taking the photos. I'm traveling to the Arrowhead next month with my camera in tow to capture some wildlife photos.

That 2nd shot got a laugh out of me db....what a pose and look, almost a little smile. I've never seen one of these before....excellent captures! Now go shoot some birds...heh...heh.

Shar824 wrote in post #8613758
Great shots DB, what a cutie......fliers are one type of squirrel I could actually put up with.

They are cute and quite docile... we have had them flying around here for years. At night we can feed a few of them a bit of peanut butter by hand... interesting squirrel to watch... thanks Sharon.

ed rader wrote in post #8615565
very cool. i'm a huge squirrel fan and i've never seen one of those guys. nice job .
ed rader

Thanks Ed, I suspect many people don't get to see them since they are nocturnal... at least all I have seen except this guy...

photoskeeter wrote in post #8615816
Nice pics! I like your dissertation on taking the photos. I'm traveling to the Arrowhead next month with my camera in tow to capture some wildlife photos.

I wish you luck in your Arrowhead visit... lot's of animals and birds to shoot in our area... Thanks for commenting.

ajosteve wrote in post #8616446
That 2nd shot got a laugh out of me db....what a pose and look, almost a little smile. I've never seen one of these before....excellent captures! Now go shoot some birds...heh...heh.

Ha is right... I was smiling just watching this guy watch me... I was surprised to see him during the day... and I was trying to shoot the "illusive warbler" when I was interrupted...I love the folded arm thing...Thanks Steve

Very cute, db! I've never seen one of these myself.

jgrussell wrote in post #8618333
Very cute, db! I've never seen one of these myself.

Thank you jgr... Check out Steve's squirrel, it is more gray and has more "spring in his step"... unlike me...

DB, you are fortunate indeed to have captured this. I lived most of my life in areas where they were common, yet only once did I see one in the daytime.

I did have a job once (as a contractor) sealing up a customer's home so that the flying squirrels wouldn't be able to get in. They had gaps everywhere where the little guys would squeeze thru, then at night the people would hear them gnawing on stuff and jumping about. Or perhaps I should say gliding about.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #8619831
DB, you are fortunate indeed to have captured this. I lived most of my life in areas where they were common, yet only once did I see one in the daytime.

I did have a job once (as a contractor) sealing up a customer's home so that the flying squirrels wouldn't be able to get in. They had gaps everywhere where the little guys would squeeze thru, then at night the people would hear them gnawing on stuff and jumping about. Or perhaps I should say gliding about.

I had one come down a chimney in a previous house... I put on a pair of leather gloves and walked over and picked him up like a pet and put him out on a tree. They are really docile little animals... unlike the infamous red squirrel... Thank you Tom.

What an adorable little guy! I love the second shot!

Momtothefurmonsters wrote in post #8624521
What an adorable little guy! I love the second shot!

Thank you, I appreciate your remarks... the first shot is not cropped, I had to turn the camera to get a full shot of him... the 400 was not conducive to a clear shot... but the second shot with the 70-200 turned out pretty good... shows the little rascal's personality

dbriz wrote in post #8613098

What'd ya lookin' at, bub?