Uinta Ground Squirrel near East Canyon CreekUinta Ground Squirrel near East Canyon Creek – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Even though I am primarily a bird photographer I simply can not resist photographing the other creatures I find out in the wild. The same day I photographed the Green-tailed Towhee and the Yellow Warbler high up in the Wasatch Mountains I found a few Uinta Ground Squirrels there too. Uinta Ground Squirrels only spend a few months above ground and the rest of the time they hibernate or estivate underground so my window of opportunity to photograph this species is limited.

There were three Uinta Ground Squirrels in the riparian zone along East Canyon Creek and I felt that I had to take photos of them in the bright, clear light, they were so cute. The adult ground squirrel had the best light on it but it always stayed partially hidden in the lush grasses. All of the squirrels were so close that I had trouble fitting them into my view finder so I decided to leave my teleconverter on and take close up photos of the adult. I’m glad I did.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Uinta Ground Squirrel photos plus facts and information about this species.