{"id":92125,"date":"2021-07-13T06:05:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T12:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=92125"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:12:36","slug":"least-chipmunk-on-a-smoky-morning-in-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/13\/least-chipmunk-on-a-smoky-morning-in-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Least Chipmunk On A Smoky Morning In The Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LeastLeast Chipmunk eating in front of wildflowers from the aster family \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn’t escape the smoke that is covering Utah even high in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> yesterday but I was delighted to photograph a Least Chipmunk and wildflowers through the smoky haze. The wildflowers are from the Aster family but I am not certain whether they are asters or fleabanes. The wildlfowers did add a nice pop of color to every frame I took of the chipmunk.<\/p>\n

\"LeastLeast Chipmunk crawling down a branch \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This chipmunk spent its time going back and forth between this branch and a Round Leaf Snowberry that was right next to it. There were several Least Chipmunks in the area and this chipmunk kept an eye on them as it ate and moved around.<\/p>\n

\"LeastLeast Chipmunk in front of wildflowers \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The smoke in the air did give my images of the chipmunk a color cast and even though I would have preferred clear air the slightly golden cast made the light in my chipmunk photos appealing to my eyes.<\/p>\n

\"LeastLeast Chipmunk on a smoky morning in the mountains \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I haven’t photographed nearly as many Least Chipmunks this year as I usually do but they have been more of a challenge to find at times. I noticed that the serviceberries are starting to ripen yesterday which means I will need to start watching for them feasting on those berries. I hope to drive up into the mountains later this week and sit at the serviceberry shrubs that I know are a draw for these little chipmunks.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I couldn’t escape the smoke that is covering Utah even high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday but I was delighted to photograph a Least Chipmunk and wildflowers through the smoky haze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170415,"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":[5922,4594,26,773],"tags":[6174,11988,6175,4897,3940,4383,5352,11989,4286,11987,6259,5351,6871,4069,2264,5064,5070,9626,11986,6699,2315,8591,30,4176,4307],"class_list":["post-92125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-least-chipmunks","category-morgan-county","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-aster","tag-aster-family","tag-asters","tag-branch","tag-canyon","tag-chipmunk","tag-chipmunks","tag-crawling","tag-eating","tag-fleabane","tag-forest-edge","tag-least-chipmunk","tag-morgan-county","tag-mountains","tag-tamias-minimus","tag-pink-wildflowers","tag-purple-wildflowers","tag-riparian-habitat","tag-round-leaf-snowberry","tag-smoky-haze","tag-summer-3","tag-symphoricarpos-rotundifolius","tag-utah-2","tag-wasatch-mountains","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-asters-mia-mcpherson-9076.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-nXT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":104256,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/15\/least-chipmunk-in-a-ravine\/","url_meta":{"origin":92125,"position":0},"title":"Least Chipmunk In A Ravine","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I was in the field I spotted a Least Chipmunk eating in a small ravine next to a road high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Least Chipmunks"","block_context":{"text":"Least Chipmunks","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/least-chipmunks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Chipmunk eating in a ravine, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/least-chipmunk-eating-mia-mcpherson-5128.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/least-chipmunk-eating-mia-mcpherson-5128.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-cataract-mia-mcpherson-1185.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-cataract-mia-mcpherson-1185.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-cataract-mia-mcpherson-1185.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-cataract-mia-mcpherson-1185.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":72340,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/08\/01\/least-chipmunk-close-up-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":92125,"position":3},"title":"Least Chipmunk Close Up Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When a Least Chipmunk popped up on a fence post that was so close I wasn't sure I'd be able to get sharp images of it due to my minimum focusing distance I still tried. I'm glad that I did.","rel":"","context":"In "Least Chipmunks"","block_context":{"text":"Least Chipmunks","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/least-chipmunks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Chipmunk portrait, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-tamias-minimus-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-tamias-minimus-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/least-chipmunk-tamias-minimus-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2921.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/uinta-chipmunk-chokecherry-mountains-mia-mcpherson-9290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/uinta-chipmunk-chokecherry-mountains-mia-mcpherson-9290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/uinta-chipmunk-chokecherry-mountains-mia-mcpherson-9290.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/uinta-chipmunk-chokecherry-mountains-mia-mcpherson-9290.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104699,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/02\/adult-least-chipmunk-eating-breakfast\/","url_meta":{"origin":92125,"position":5},"title":"Adult Least Chipmunk Eating Breakfast","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I photographed this Least Chipmunk eating breakfast in bright morning light in a willow thicket high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Least Chipmunks"","block_context":{"text":"Least Chipmunks","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/least-chipmunks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Least Chipmunk eating breakfast, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/least-chipmunk-eating-breakfast-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/least-chipmunk-eating-breakfast-mia-mcpherson-8367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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