{"id":113395,"date":"2023-05-12T04:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113395"},"modified":"2023-05-12T04:00:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T10:00:56","slug":"urban-rock-squirrel-with-a-blade-of-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/12\/urban-rock-squirrel-with-a-blade-of-grass\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Rock Squirrel With A Blade Of Grass"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a backlog of spring images to go through, including photos of a Rock Squirrel and a blade of grass from the end of April.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Squirrel and a blade of spring grass \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was both surprised and delighted to find several Rock Squirrels at a local park in the city where I live. I never thought of them as being urban creatures until I found them so close to home. Typically, I have photographed them in the Wasatch, Uinta, Oquirrh, and Stansbury mountain ranges. To be able to photograph them at my local park has been a treat.<\/p>\n

This adult Rock Squirrel was very cooperative, which allowed me to take portraits of it as it nibbled and ate the fresh spring grasses. In this photo, the long blade of grass in front of the squirrel caught my eye. I wondered if the squirrel would eat the blade of grass.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Squirrel eating a blade of grass \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I kept my focus on the squirrel and the blade of grass long enough to watch it grab it, and the blade of grass disappeared. In the next image that blade of grass was completely gone.<\/p>\n

I am enjoying photographing and observing these urban Rock Squirrels.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

They disappear when people walk by with unleashed dogs but reappear soon after the dogs leave. The park has a rule that dogs must be on a leash, but I’ve seen people, including photographers, ignore that rule.<\/p>\n

I hope these squirrels stick around. They are fun to photograph and watch.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Rock Squirrel photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a backlog of spring images to go through, including photos of a Rock Squirrel and a blade of grass from the end of April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5661,709,26,99],"tags":[4004,13902,4142,4286,3747,1631,5071,5662,10698,4046,5663,165,3826,3827,8018],"class_list":["post-113395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rock-squirrels","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","category-wildlife","tag-adult","tag-blade","tag-close-up","tag-eating","tag-grass","tag-ground-squirrel","tag-ground-squirrels","tag-otospermophilus-variegatus","tag-park","tag-portrait","tag-rock-squirrel","tag-spring","tag-squirrel","tag-squirrels","tag-urban"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rock-squirrel-blade-of-grass-mia-mcpherson-5756.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tuX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":116706,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/03\/close-up-rock-squirrel-at-home-yesterday\/","url_meta":{"origin":113395,"position":0},"title":"Close Up Rock Squirrel At Home Yesterday","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, during a light rain, I looked out of my living room window, and to my surprise, I had a close-up view of a Rock Squirrel right next to the house.","rel":"","context":"In "Rock Squirrels"","block_context":{"text":"Rock Squirrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/rock-squirrels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rock Squirrel and Mia selfie, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/rock-squirrel-selfie-mia-mcpherson-5796.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/rock-squirrel-selfie-mia-mcpherson-5796.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/rock-squirrel-selfie-mia-mcpherson-5796.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/rock-squirrel-selfie-mia-mcpherson-5796.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112372,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/11\/city-dwelling-rock-squirrel-surprise\/","url_meta":{"origin":113395,"position":1},"title":"City Dwelling Rock Squirrel Surprise","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago when I was at a local park with my friend and yours, April Olson, I spotted a Rock Squirrel. Then I saw three more nearby and I had to take photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Rock Squirrels"","block_context":{"text":"Rock Squirrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/rock-squirrels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pair of Rock Squirrels in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/rock-squirrel-salt-lake-county-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/rock-squirrel-salt-lake-county-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/rock-squirrel-salt-lake-county-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/rock-squirrel-salt-lake-county-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":124365,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/16\/my-first-of-year-rock-squirrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":113395,"position":2},"title":"My First Of Year Rock Squirrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I got out for about 30 minutes yesterday because the weather forecast was wrong, again. When I found my first-of-year Rock Squirrel, the sun was shining bright.","rel":"","context":"In "Rock Squirrels"","block_context":{"text":"Rock Squirrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/rock-squirrels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First of year Rock Squirrel, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rock-squirrel-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-9587.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rock-squirrel-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-9587.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rock-squirrel-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-9587.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm sharing some adult Uinta Ground Squirrel photos that were taken high in the Wasatch Mountains over the past month that I like a lot.","rel":"","context":"In "Summit County"","block_context":{"text":"Summit County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/summit-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Uinta Ground Squirrel on an old sagebrush stump, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-adult-sagebrush-stump-mia-mcpherson-2147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-adult-sagebrush-stump-mia-mcpherson-2147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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