Charismatic and athletic

Flock of Bohemian Waxwings

The birds have been rather uncooperative in the last little while. They are either perched at the tree tops, or doing a quick flyby, although sometimes in large flocks.  The squirrels on the other hand, are highly visible lately and much more active now that the weather is a bit warmer.

I love watching the antics of squirrels.  Squirrels are so very athletic.  They have to be, at the breakneck speeds they often manage.  They are also charismatic and fun.  If you want a real chuckle, just watch two squirrels chase each other around, and up and down the trunk of a tree for what seems like forever.  I have yet to capture that on camera, but I'm hoping I will some day soon.

Below are some photos of a squirrel running down the trunk of a 50 foot pine at break neck speed.  If you look closely at the first photo, you will see that the squirrel has only one limb in touch with the trunk. In the second photo he is leaping from one broken branch down to the next, like a trapeze artist.  When I looked at this series of photos I immediately got an uneasy sensation in the pit of my stomach.  Good grief, this tiny creature was completely defying gravity with what seemed like total ease.

one limp in contact with tree

A short hop down?

Let's just fly

I don't know why this one was racing down the tree, nor why he immediately jumped to another tree about five feet from the first.  It's possible he saw a hawk or falcon, or maybe an intruder in his territory.  Although squirrels can be aggressive and territorial, they also seem to enjoy just racing up and down a tree, just for fun.

If I walk real slow, I can often surprise these little guys when they finally take a break from their frantic racing around.  Each squirrel seems to react differently when I do.

I think I badly startled the one directly below.

Startled

Uncertain

 The squirrel above is uncertain, his tail is raised in alarm but he still isn't sure if I'm a threat.

I'm outa here

 This squirrel isn't going to hang around to see if I'm a threat, he is going up. While the squirrel below, seems to have decided it has teeth, that I'm in his territory and he'll defend it.

Aggressive

Curious but cautious

Poser

Of the last two squirrels, one was simply curious and watched me watch it, and the last just posed real pretty for several photos before he decided to leave.

Enjoy,
Guni