The lucky squirrel

He got off with two goodie bags :D


I met this little fellow yesterday while I was patiently waiting for a grey heron to get out of the reeds (which it never did - fortunately I got a couple of shots before it went into the reeds :) )

Mette

He lost his goodie bag in the water :cryin:

Mette

Just curious...don't recognize what the squirrel is carrying. Could you let us know what he has in his mouth. Thanks.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

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Originally Posted by WesternGuy

Just curious...don't recognize what the squirrel is carrying. Could you let us know what he has in his mouth. Thanks.

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Fresh walnuts :)

Mette

Neat shots, the colour and ear tufts on the squirrel are fascinating. Very different than the ones around here.

Thanks - I was so lucky to catch this squirrel, just standing on an old wooden bridge waiting for the heron when this cute little fellow came along. He saw me, stopped for a few moments then ran off. But he looked so funny with his mouth so very full, I was one huge smile behind the camera :)

Don't you have red squirrels in North America. I remember when living in the UK, I only ever saw grey ones?

Mette

We do have Red Squirrels aka Pine Squirrels in N.A., but not near as red as this one. We also have tons of Fox Squirrels, which some people mistakenly call Red Squirrels, but are much larger, comparable to the Gray Squirrel. However, your squirrel would definitely win any squirrel beauty contest, if entered here. He's a cutie.

Now there's a thought for a new thread! A squirrel beauty contest :D No, seriously! I'd really love to see a collection of all those cute but different squirrels there is out there in the big wide world. The one in my photograph Sciurus vulgaris fuscoater is the only type we have in Denmark (apart from Bornholm where they have Sciurus vulgaris vulgaris which is 25% smaller and has a smaller tail).

Interesting idea. I'll share a couple. The first one is a corn fed fox squirrel and the second one is our red aka pine squirrel.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/...1bd15262_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/...cb395d04_o.jpg

Not great pictures, but here are some squirrels I photographed in Manitou Springs, CO this summer. I am told that the black one is an Albert squirrel.

I had never heard of an Albert's squirrel, so I googled it. From what I can see, this isn't an Albert's squirrel. The Albert's is also called Tassel eared squirrel and this one doesn't have the right ears. It doesn't have the tufts on the top of the ears.Then again, I'm only going by what I'm finding online. I'm thinking that this is just a black variation of the gray squirrel. We do have a few of those in MN, not anywhere in my proximity though. However, we do have plenty of gray squirrels, just not as numerous as the fox squirrels, at least not in my neck of the woods.

Keep the squirrel pics coming. This is getting fun.

I've got a walnut tree right behind my house - squirrels are always climbing on it. What kind are these ones?

Ambesol, the first one is definitely a gray and the second one probably is too, but the lighting is a bit harsh to be able to really tell.

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Originally Posted by mn shutterbug

I had never heard of an Albert's squirrel, so I googled it. From what I can see, this isn't an Albert's squirrel. The Albert's is also called Tassel eared squirrel and this one doesn't have the right ears. It doesn't have the tufts on the top of the ears.Then again, I'm only going by what I'm finding online. I'm thinking that this is just a black variation of the gray squirrel. We do have a few of those in MN, not anywhere in my proximity though. However, we do have plenty of gray squirrels, just not as numerous as the fox squirrels, at least not in my neck of the woods.

Keep the squirrel pics coming. This is getting fun.

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Interesting. All I know is that I took that photo at a bed and breakfast we stayed at in Manitou Springs and that is what the proprietor told me it was. I had never seen one like that before.

And here I was thinking that I needed to start a new thread for the 2008 World Squirrel Beauty Contest :D Seems like you guys have been busy uploading while I was out! Really sweet creatures! But I wonder why most of your squirrels aren't as furry as ours? Surely you must get just as cold winters! Remind me a little of hamsters with a fluffy tail LOL but I suppose they are all rodents :) Shutterbug, the second one of yours (the fox squirrel?) look like a youngster? What does he/she have in the mouth?

Good stuff, keep them coming :thumbsup:

Mette

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Originally Posted by Pink Dragonfly

Don't you have red squirrels in North America. I remember when living in the UK, I only ever saw grey ones?

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Because the North American Grey squirrel has almost totally out-competed the native Red Squirrel here in the UK.
A case of someone bring into the country cute furry animals in the mid 1800s.
With their ability to digest acorns, (which reds can't), they have tended to displace red squirrels in areas of woodland where the two have come into contact.

Oh and the native UK crayfish is under severe threat from the American Signal crayfish.
The signal crayfish is quite capable of walking overland in its search for a home, it will rapidly colonise freshwater sites and can not only competitively exclude our native crayfish, but it also carries a fungal disease, the crayfish plague, to which the native crayfish has no defence.

We have a Mink problem too.
Predation by the invasive American mink has been the main cause of the decline in water voles in the UK. Mink escaped from fur farms before the practice was prohibited in the 1980s. They have spread rapidly and have negative impacts on many native species across the UK.

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Originally Posted by Pink Dragonfly

Shutterbug, the second one of yours (the fox squirrel?) look like a youngster? What does he/she have in the mouth?

Mette

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The second one is the pine squirrel. I believe that's a walnut in his mouth.

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Originally Posted by mn shutterbug

The second one is the pine squirrel. I believe that's a walnut in his mouth.

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Okay, it was just that the top one looked much more red. Your pine squirrel is a real cutie :)

Mette

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Originally Posted by Pink Dragonfly

Okay, it was just that the top one looked much more red.

Mette

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This is why so many people mistakenly call the fox squirrel a red squirrel.

I can understand why! At least in that respect, my life is simple :D Only one species... Though I can't quite figure out why the grey squirrel hasn't come across to us as well?

Mette

Wombat, fortunately it hasn't happened with Homo sapiens yet LOL :D :D

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Originally Posted by SmartWombat

Because the North American Grey squirrel has almost totally out-competed the native Red Squirrel here in the UK.
A case of someone bring into the country cute furry animals in the mid 1800s.
With their ability to digest acorns, (which reds can't), they have tended to displace red squirrels in areas of woodland where the two have come into contact.

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From what I understand, it's not that reds can't digest acorns, but they can't digest unripe ones which the greys can. Thus by the time that acorns have ripened, there are none left for the reds.

The greys were first introduced to Britain at Henbury park, Cheshire, in 1876, and introduced to other areas around the UK in the 1920s.
From these sites the squirrel population grew, and as it did, the red squirrel population began its decline.
There are no definite facts as to why the two species cannot live together, but it appears that the greys have a greater ability to compete for food due to their ability to digest unripe acorns. The only advantage that the reds have is their supremacy in conifer forests.

The British red squirrel population is estimated at 161 000 - 10 000 in Wales, 30 000 in England, and 121 000 in Scotland.The grey squirrel population is estimated at 2 520 000, with two million in England. In England, greys outnumber reds by 66:1 . Conservation programmes are now in place in several locations, but not enough...

A similar story is found in Ireland where they were introduced in 1911 as an exotic wedding gift!!! However, the Irish are apparently further ahead with their conservation programmes.

Mette

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Originally Posted by SmartWombat

They have spread rapidly and have negative impacts on many native species across the UK.

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So did your Monte Python, Benny Hill, and Simon Cowell (not sure of the spelling on that last one - I don't follow that one) to our native species here :)

Here's one from last week.

Justing hanging around ... watching me ... watching him...

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Originally Posted by Loupey

So did your Monte Python, Benny Hill, and Simon Cowell (not sure of the spelling on that last one - I don't follow that one) to our native species here :)

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Hehe, you guys need the cultural influence...LOL :D :D

English humour is the best in the world :p

Loupey, that's a great squirrel shot you've got there - I REALLY like it, what a couch potato!

Mette

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Originally Posted by Loupey

So did your Monte Python, Benny Hill, and Simon Cowell (not sure of the spelling on that last one - I don't follow that one) to our native species here :)

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Don't forget Mr. Bean. He's my favorite. :thumbsup:

Speaking of Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson), wasn't he in that Rat Race movie in which the line "You should've bought a squirrel" originated? :D