{"id":141313,"date":"2025-03-08T02:35:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T08:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=141313"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T17:25:14","slug":"bairds-pocket-gopher-in-arkansas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/08\/bairds-pocket-gopher-in-arkansas\/","title":{"rendered":"Baird\u2019s Pocket Gopher In Arkansas"},"content":{"rendered":"

These photos of a Baird’s Pocket Gopher mark only the second time I’ve had this rodent species in my viewfinder, once in Oklahoma and now in Arkansas.<\/p>\n

\"Baird'sBaird’s Pocket Gopher digging in a garden<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, I was sitting outside in south-central Oklahoma when I first spotted and photographed this pocket gopher species. I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking photos of the gopher.<\/p>\n

With this Baird’s Pocket Gopher, I was sitting on the deck, enjoying the warm sunshine and birds, when I saw the gopher digging up the dirt in the garden.<\/p>\n

That day, I didn’t take any photos, but I sure did yesterday!<\/p>\n

\"Baird'sBaird’s Pocket Gopher close up in Arkansas<\/span><\/p>\n

I watched the furry, grayish gopher digging through my viewfinder as I took images. These rodents aren’t as easy to photograph as some of my other mammal subjects. They keep most of their body underground and only stick their heads up intermittently. The sound of the shutter does seem to rattle them a tiny bit.<\/p>\n

Baird’s Pocket Gophers are found primarily in the Great Plains of North America, where they burrow extensively underground, creating complex tunnel systems. These gophers play a crucial role in their ecosystem by aerating the soil and mixing organic material, which helps improve soil fertility and plant growth.<\/p>\n

Baird’s Pocket Gophers are herbivores, feeding primarily on roots, tubers, and other underground plant parts. Their diet contributes to shaping the vegetation in their habitat.<\/p>\n

While generally solitary, Baird’s Pocket Gophers<\/span><\/a> sometimes engage in aggressive territorial behavior, defending their burrows from intruders.<\/p>\n

What could be interesting is that I believe there are two of these gophers within 30 feet or so of each other, so there might be some interaction between them at some point. I’ll be keeping a lookout for that!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

These photos of a Baird’s Pocket Gopher mark only the second time I’ve had this rodent species in my viewfinder\u2014once in Oklahoma and now in Arkansas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13950,15232,13951],"tags":[4004,15245,4142,10612,9808,13931,15246,320,15244,1632,15242,15243,4046,5697,9882,15824,373,13966],"class_list":["post-141313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-bairds-pocket-gophers","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-bairds-pocket-gopher","tag-close-up","tag-digging","tag-dirt","tag-garden","tag-geomys-breviceps","tag-gopher","tag-gophers","tag-mammals","tag-pocket-gopher","tag-pocket-gophers","tag-portrait","tag-rodents","tag-soil","tag-suburban","tag-winter","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bairds-pocket-gopher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6642.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ALf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":141427,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/10\/more-bairds-pocket-gopher-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":141313,"position":0},"title":"More Baird’s Pocket Gopher Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, Steve told me to grab my camera. I did, and within a minute, I had a Baird's Pocket Gopher in my viewfinder\u2014one with a wonderfully clear view.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Baird's Pocket Gopher with a dirty nose, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bairds-gopher-garden-mia-mcpherson-7078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bairds-gopher-garden-mia-mcpherson-7078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bairds-gopher-garden-mia-mcpherson-7078.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Eastern-Pocket-Gopher-Genus-Geomys-Oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Eastern-Pocket-Gopher-Genus-Geomys-Oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3614.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Eastern-Pocket-Gopher-Genus-Geomys-Oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3614.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Eastern-Pocket-Gopher-Genus-Geomys-Oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-3614.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105171,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/19\/west-desert-great-basin-gopher-snake\/","url_meta":{"origin":141313,"position":2},"title":"West Desert Great Basin Gopher Snake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago while out exploring the West Desert of Utah I was thrilled to come across a large Great Basin Gopher Snake warming itself on a dusty dirt road.","rel":"","context":"In "Gopher Snakes"","block_context":{"text":"Gopher Snakes","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/gopher-snakes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"West Desert Great Basin Gopher Snake portrait, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/gopher-snake-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0158.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/gopher-snake-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0158.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fish Crow with nesting material, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fish-crow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fish-crow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fish-crow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9148.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/fish-crow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9148.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Farmers don't like Richardson's Ground Squirrels much, they dig holes that could break the legs on livestock and eat grains and the shoots of plants, I can understand those concerns. But I have to say... I love them, they are fun to watch and photograph.","rel":"","context":"In "Glacier County"","block_context":{"text":"Glacier County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/glacier-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Richardson's Ground Squirrel standing, Glacier County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/richardsons-ground-squirrel-montana-mia-mcpherson-7483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/richardsons-ground-squirrel-montana-mia-mcpherson-7483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/richardsons-ground-squirrel-montana-mia-mcpherson-7483.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/richardsons-ground-squirrel-montana-mia-mcpherson-7483.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}