Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: dalethorn on December 25, 2008, 08:52:46 pm

Title: Frozen wetland and a solo inhabitant
Post by: dalethorn on December 25, 2008, 08:52:46 pm
The landscape was taken with the Pana TZ5 - I would have preferred to use the LX3, but my fingers were so cold I couldn't bear to remove it from the case and swap cameras.  I don't know how those people manage in Antarctica.  I don't know the actual species of this squirrel, but we have these, the grays, and black squirrels with semi-webbed type feet.  I would rather the larger branch not be there, but I spent 15-20 minutes already moving around through the obstructions just to get this one, after 30 or so failures.
Title: Frozen wetland and a solo inhabitant
Post by: wolfnowl on December 26, 2008, 03:05:31 am
Yup, that's definitely a red squirrel! (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus if it was in North America) - looks to be a juvenile, too - born this spring.  Red squirrels primarily eat the seeds out of pine, spruce, etc. cones, and so they're mostly found in coniferous forests, although they will branch out into berries, mushrooms, even carrion if it gets cold enough!  Both gray and black squirrels are the same species, just different colour phases.  The farther south you go you get more grays, and the farther north, more blacks.  End of biology lesson...

Mike.

Nice shot, BTW!
Title: Frozen wetland and a solo inhabitant
Post by: dalethorn on December 26, 2008, 11:20:22 am
Here's a photo of what I'm sure is the same squirrel a couple months ago in warmer weather.  The coat seems more brown than grey this time, which may be a seasonal adaptation, or might partly be due to the angle of the lighting.