Old One Ear

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 17, 2011111 views4 comments

Old One Ear: Plum Tuckered Out

This one-eared squirrel deserves to be famous: he (or she?) alone figured out how to climb up one bird feeder pole to just below the inverted squirrel prevention funnel and leap to the second feeder pole above the funnel on that pole. It took me awhile to figure out how he managed to be sitting on the bird feeder each morning.

Here we see him resting after being pursued by my cat. It's only a game: the cat never catches him. In fact, I've seen the two pause the chase while the squirrel took a drink from the bird bath.

The vine in this image is a distraction. However, maybe it also serves to provide a boundary which directs our attention towards the head. I'm not sure. At any rate, removing it would mean creating new squirrel pixels and I'm reluctant to do that.

All comments most welcome.

1D Mark IV, 400 mm f/5.6, 1.4x TC, hand held: ISO 1250, 1/1000 s, f/8, 0 EV, 10.9 MP (68% of the 16 MP full frame of this camera), NR, exposure adjustment, sharpening.

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 17, 2011 at 12:51 PM

You've caught a nice pose, resting but watchful. I'm not bothered by the vine but would like the nose to be sharp. Squirrels are fun to watch. For several years, I had one athlete (out of a dozen) who could launch itself from a branch 10 feet above and about 8-10 feet to the side of my feeder and land on top. I figured it had earned it's feast. It was also cool because once in a while it overshot the feeder!

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on June 18, 2011 at 8:37 AM

Hey Steve,

I wonder if the other squirrels in the area will watch this one and figure out how to copy him/her? Observational learning is common among many species (even small birds like chickadees). Maybe this one is smart enough to know that and only pulls its trick when the coast is clear and no one else is watching!

I like the relaxed pose of this squirrel and the hanging arm makes me think "teenager on couch" (not that I've ever owned one of those!). While I don't think the vine is a major distraction, I also don't think it adds a bundle to the shot. I'm with you in thinking that removing the vine is something I'd be reluctant to do. As Mark pointed out, parts of the head region are a little soft (nose to proximal portions of the eye) and to me this is a more important issue than the vine.

Thanks for sharing this one - it definitely made me smile!

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 18, 2011 at 7:53 PM

Cute shot Steve, like the relaxed pose and intimate comp.
I've got my share here, always trying to eat up my sunflower seeds of course.
About all one can do is keep em' at bay part of the time, they're very persistent to say the least.
I can identify with your story, our four chihuahua's do the same thing. Don't think they would know what to with one if they ever caught up to em'
Still a lot of fun to watch when they get close

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on June 23, 2011 at 7:58 PM

Thank you all. I so enjoyed your comments about squirrels and their pursuers that you have known. Also, I much appreciate your comments about soft noses, etc. in this image. I could have dialed ss down a bit here and decreased aperture. Next time!!
P.S.: I solved the problem of squirrel access by removing one pole and living with a one pole feeder. (However, I don't believe any other squirrel learned the trick from this one.)
P.P.S.: Yesterday, I found OIld One Ear sitting on the feeder: He figured out how to launch himself from the top of the bird bath to the feeder. To be continued.....

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments