They are our smallest squirrels and yet the most assertive of the lot. It’s funny to see red squirrels chase the larger greys around the park. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re territorial or they just enjoy it. Maybe it’s a bit of both. This little guy was giving me the eye, I blinked first and moved along.
When I get out early enough I often catch the passing parade of people walking their pets. Usually dogs, sometimes a cat or two , and even the occasional ferret. When they’re not being walked you often see them waiting for their owners to return as is the case in these photographs. Dogs tend to look alert and baleful, while cats look rather cool and collected.
We’ve seen more chipmunks than usual this summer. Two reasons for this I imagine – their food sources are plentiful and we’ve seen fewer of their natural enemies in the woods, hawks and owls. This little guy was enjoying a snack and judging from his full cheeks hadn’t finished consuming an earlier one.
Raccoons will eat practically anything, in this case the raccoon was eating some feed that had been left for the birds and squirrels. He was having a fine time of it as we approached along the trail. I have never encountered a raccoon this close up before or one so well fed and relaxed. He ate happily and only left when someone else came along.
We don’t see too many chipmunks anymore. They’re outnumbered by red and grey squirrels. I was happy to see this little fellow enjoying his cracker with no competition from the bigger guys. It looks like his snack just fell out of a picnic basket, his for the asking.
It was mid March last year when I took this photo. A long winter was drawing to a close and more people were out in the woods enjoying the milder weather and bearing gifts for the locals. This squirrel was enjoying the bounty and neither this photographer nor any competition was going to move him along.
You often see dogs hanging their heads out of a car window but this was a first for me. It was a mild February day and owner and dog were enjoying it to the fullest. I was shooting with my 35mm lens so I didn’t think I’d get the shot I wanted. I only noticed the mural when I got home and viewed the image on my computer. A lucky choice of lens after all!
Like many kids growing up, I loved The “Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. This gentle looking meadow vole reminded me of this childhood favourite. We stood and watched as it munched its way along the lakefront, not giving us a second look. We were lucky to see one as they’re mainly active at night.
Red Squirrels are pretty bold with other squirrels. Although much smaller than the greys they often chase them around. In this case the squirrel stood his ground and kept eating as I took his picture. He never took his eyes off me but didn’t budge either.
By this time in May we usually see a lot of young birds in the woods and on the water. Given the below normal temperatures in our area and heavy spring flooding the natural cycle has been delayed by a few weeks. Squirrels don’t seem to have been effected though as we’ve some young about. This young squirrel wasn’t scared off by my presence. He kept an eye on me but held his ground (and his nut) while I photographed him. I took a few shots and then I left him to it.
The path we were on led to a field bordered by some underbrush. While looking around, this Cottontail appeared. At first it froze in place and then not bothered by our presence continued feeding; glancing in our direction from time to time. I thought it must have been rather young and trusting to react this way. I took a few shots before he decided to move along.
I’ve featured black eastern grey squirrels before. They’re particularly attractive subjects in the fall with the autumn leaves as backdrop. These squirrels are usually skittish. Although he kept a watchful eye on me, nothing was going to disturb him from his snack. As winter was fast approaching and food was harder to come by every bite counted.
Occasionally we come across eastern cottontails on our walks. The first photo was taken in a wildlife garden. I startled the rabbit as he was eating, it looks like he was trying to hide behind the flower, not too successfully though. I managed to take a shot before he ran off. The rabbit in the second photo looks like a young one. He’s up early, the morning dew is still on the grass. When the sunlight hits their ears they light up like beacons. I just love that!
I think this groundhog noticed me before I saw him. He was half in his burrow and kept a wary eye on me as I walked along. I see them quite often within the city limits, in open fields and in public gardens. Groundhogs dig deep burrows and one misplaced step can land you on their doorstep. I can well understand that farmers and gardeners consider them pests as they graze on vegetables and crops and can leave the ground weak where they tunnel. However, not being either, I rather like them. It all depends on your perspective I guess. They are also one of Canada’s true hibernators, fattening up in the fall and hibernating when the temperatures dip.
There’s a large tree in the reserve which the local raccoons have claimed as their own. On hot summer days we’ve seen them stretched out on the limbs of the tree, waiting for the hint of a breeze. Clever animals, as we push our way through the humid air… The light on the raccoon and tree trunk were very harsh. A few adjustments in Lightroom to the exposure, highlights, contrast and shadows corrected this.
These photos were taken within a few days of each other. The brown hues of late fall turned to a white snowscape very quickly this month. These eastern grey squirrels are sporting thick coats and look alert and well fed as they make their rounds of the park. At times you get the sense that you’re being watched as you walk along the trail. Chances are it’s one of these squirrels, as they’re everywhere you look.
Some squirrels in the reserve are quite tame, on alert for handouts. They’ll hold their ground as you approach them on the path in anticipation of a treat. Others will freeze in place hoping you won’t see them. I think this young squirrel wasn’t sure where he stood, hiding in plain sight.
Frogs make excellent subjects, on land or in the water. Sometimes they blend in so well that you might only notice one if it jumps and catches your eye. The Leopard Frog in the first photo, didn’t make any sudden moves, I only noticed it when I was trying to track the flight of an insect. The second photo was taken before a recent rain, when these green frogs were easier to spot because the water was so shallow. I like the spider “tattoo” on its cheek.
There’s a platform off the water that provides an excellent view of the goings on at the reserve. Given the drought in our area the water level is low and the painted turtles are easier to spot as they swim around. In the first photo the turtle seemed to be treading water. I’ve never noticed one in that position before. I spotted the second turtle further along the trail. He was a fine looking example, his shell and claws quite striking. But what a grump!
With all the summertime visitors to our area we tend to forget the true denizens of the forest. Although there are a few species of birds that remain year round, you don’t need to go far to spot a squirrel in any season. We haven’t seen any raptors in the reserve this summer (the largest bird we’ve spotted is one lonely turkey) so the squirrels are running free. I took this shot in low light so I raised the ISO but the speed never got above 1/40sec. Exposure and shadow adjustments in Lightroom and noise reduction software in Macphun made the photo come to life.
I was standing on a platform with a group of other photographers trying to take photos of a heron that was just out of my lens’ range. As I was having no success with the heron I looked about to find something else of interest. The painted turtle in these photos was swimming around a few feet below me and kept raising his head above water. As I didn’t have a polarizing filter on my lens the water looks a bit murky but I don’t think it detracts from the final result.
I came across this well-fed rabbit as it grazed along the footpath. It didn’t follow typical rabbit behaviour when startled by people – it didn’t freeze or bolt. It just continued feeding and then stopped and looked at us (we were never further than seven to eight feet away). We figured it must have been a young rabbit and had not learned to fear people or predators yet. This reserve has a fair number of hawks and other raptors, I hope it learns that lesson soon!
* After some useful information from a fellow blogger, I no longer believe this rabbit is a cottontail (see my exchange with Eliza Waters in comments)
I always check for painted turtles swimming along the shoreline or sunning themselves on the fallen logs. As their name suggests they have colourful markings and are the smallest turtle species at this reserve. The snapping turtle and blanding’s turtle (both of which I’ve featured in earlier blog posts) are larger. We’re looking forward to seeing some hatchlings, it shouldn’t be too long now!
This little squirrel was aware of my presence but he wasn’t going to abandon his snack and run away. I guess he hoped that if he stood very still I wouldn’t notice him. Not a chance of that as the lighting was perfect and he stood out so sharply against the green of the grass. I took a couple of shots and left him to his snack.
This attractive squirrel with its reddish coat and white underbelly is larger than a chipmunk but smaller than the grey squirrel. They are very territorial and I often see them chasing the much larger eastern greys through the woods. They will stand their ground with people too, this little guy a case in point.
We came across this beaver towards the end of our walk. Instead of taking our regular route back we decided to walk along the river’s edge. Given that it was mid day we weren’t expecting to see a beaver as they are mainly active at night. Looking down the river bank we saw it feeding at the shoreline. We were very close and it must have been aware of us but tolerated our presence. The beaver stopped eating for a bit, took a swim and returned with something else to snack on. You never know where a different path might lead!
This raccoon was quite easy to spot in its perch above the main hiking trail. There are a few resident raccoons in this reserve and we always keep an eye out for them. I like the way the leaves create a natural frame around the animal. Although I liked this effect, I made some adjustments in Lightroom using the Hue/Saturation/Luminance slider to adjust for the brightness of the leaves.
The snapping turtle is prehistoric looking with its long spiked tail and makes for a great subject as it can stay put for long periods of time sunning itself. This is the first time I have tried doing a photograph in black and white. I used Tonality Pro for Mac to affect the changes. While the colour version gives a sense of what I saw, I think the black and white is a better representation of this impressive creature.
As we were finishing our walk one day last fall, we saw someone we knew and stopped to chat. There were quite a few ducks on the lake that day but other than that we hadn’t seen much. As we turned around to leave I spotted this meadow vole. Catching sight of this little creature was an unexpected treat. Given the dull quality of the light I made some shadow and contrast adjustments and used spot removal to clean up the water a bit using Lightroom.
I came across this cottontail one morning last spring. As they are usually nocturnal I thought this was a bit of luck and given what he was up to, doubly so. I guess his snack was of more concern than I was because he held his ground which allowed me to capture him mid chew. Out of camera the shot was in the centre of the frame, I thought this crop gave the picture more impact.
There are several spots we always check on as we make our way through the woods. The raccoon was having a nap in a tree where we have spotted raccoons before. The tree is located a fair distance off the path in a dark wooded area. Out of camera the shot was a bit grainy (it was taken at a high ISO) and given how far I was from the subject I had to crop the image significantly. I processed the shot with Macphun’s Noiseless Pro and Nik detail extractor. Another issue was the white balance which I corrected in Lightroom.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 