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Open eyes now!


Open eyes now!
Photo Information
Copyright: Alli Hemingway (annagrace) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 527 W: 18 N: 851] (2996)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-09-28
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Olympus C4000Z
Exposure: f/5.6
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Doctor Dolittle and his animals, Baby Animals 3 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-09-28 14:57
Viewed: 4609
Points: 33
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I took this photo of my nanny's baby squirrel today. He is approximately 5 weeks old now since his eyes just opened recently. He is thriving under her loving care, eating a diet of wild animal formula mixed with heavy cream. Soon he will be advancing to bits of avocado, ground walnuts and banana. He is very tame and loves to be held.

Eastern gray squirrels live in trees year-round, either in cavities or nests they build out of leaves. Cavities are often old woodpecker holes. Nests are usually high up in tree crotches. Nests are hard to see in the summer, because they are made with green leaves, and are hidden by foliage.

The trees most commonly used by Eastern Gray Squirrels to live in are White Oak, American Beech, American Elm, Red Maple, and Sweetgum, though they will use others also.

Squirrels mate in the winter, and you can often see males chasing females up, down, and around trees. Once mated, both the male and female build the nest.
Eastern Gray Squirrels have two litters each year. The first is in the spring, the second in late summer. Two or three young are in each litter. The second litter spends the winter with their mother.

Eastern Gray Squirrels usually live to be about five years old. They survive with their good sense of vision, smell, and hearing. They also have incredible balance. They rarely fall from trees and hurt themselves. They can run headfirst down a tree trunk. Eastern Gray Squirrels are also excellent swimmers.

This squirrel's greatest tool may be its tail. It uses it for balance, shade from the sun, as an umbrella, a blanket, and as a rudder when swimming.

Eastern Gray Squirrels are very active, especially in the morning and evening (crepuscular times). During these times they are constantly moving. Usually, they are looking for food.

The diet of Eastern Gray Squirrels includes: acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, beechnuts, maple (buds, bark, and samaras), Yellow Poplar blossoms, American Hornbeam seeds, apples, fungi, Black Cherry, Flowering Dogwood, grapes, sedges, grasses, American Holly, insects (adults and larvae), baby birds, bird eggs, and amphibians. Sometimes they even eat each other!


http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/eastern_gray_squirrel.html
CTP, ScottHale, red45, Runnerduck, ljsugarnspice, dew77, wallhalla15, scottevers7, wgreis, jpinkham, Comandante, liquidsunshine has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Comandante: Hi Cem!annagrace 1 10-06 17:07
To dew77: Hi Sebnem!annagrace 1 09-30 23:59
To scottevers7: Baby deerannagrace 1 09-30 23:46
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • CTP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 644 W: 6 N: 946] (2726)
  • [2005-09-28 16:21]

This is very cute photo Alli.
I have never seen a baby squirrel but i always loved squirrels:)He is very cute.
Nice pov,sharpness,colors and note.TFS
CT

Alli,
An awesome pictures with great notes.
The f/5.6 really was useful here....good focus. I like this pic alot!
Scott

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2636 W: 74 N: 9091] (31094)
  • [2005-09-28 16:40]

Very cute capture Alli! Baby squirrel looks so sweet! I like its pose, big eye and long tails. Hand isn't disturbing this time.

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-09-28 17:04]

Hi Alli,

Excellent shot and well done on the details. Cute little one.
The eyes are open, careful of that pant leg thing eh? LOL

Mike

An incredibly cute shot. I bet you can't wait for that tail to bush out.
Squirrels are incredibly nervous creatures so this isn't something we get to see everyday.
I hope you have a successful release into the wild when the time is right.
A great post and note, thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2005-09-29 3:37]
  • [+]

Hello Alli!
Amazing capture.What a cute scane.Details,sharpness,POV,expression on face and composition are excellent.Thanks for sharing this beauty...:-)

Awww... my 9yr old daughter is looking over my shoulder and making cooing noises... I think she wants one.

Hey Alli , what a lovely baby. This picture is super B. Excellent shot, perfectly sharp, great colours as well and great note too. Well done.

  • Great 
  • Gudule Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 248 W: 11 N: 288] (1204)
  • [2005-09-29 20:43]

I nearly fell off my chair. I called my wife to admire your extraordinary photo.
This is a very rare moment in human/nature life. TFS.
And everything is so sharp.
Congratulations, Alli.

Hi Alli,
A great shot. The cutness factor is very high on this one. Great to see the progress of its growth. I wish I could have kept the baby deer I posted earlier, but I live in a condo so that was out. Keep us up to date on this fellow.

Scott

Very nice photo! He is so cute and yet so fragile looking, I also hope the little fellow is doing great. Paul :)

Hi Alli,
here in Brazil we dodn't have any kind of squirrel. This is the first time that I see one! And just a baby one! It's really interesting.
Very good capture.
Note excelent.
Congratulations.
Wagner.

Lovely capture, Ali. I am just back from my vacation and have lots of photos to check out and edit. I will supply a proper critique later.

Lovely opportunity. Take care of the critter.

C'est une très belle composition.
C'est le premier bébé ecureuil que je vois et je suis surpris de voir qu'il n'a pas la queue en panache comme les adultes.

Aw, Alli, if there were a cute prize, we'd have to give it to you for this one. Good composition, too, nestled there in the palm. It might be just a tiny bit sharper, but the detail, in any case, is quite clear. Great note. Don't spoil him too much :)

Hello Alli!
Very nice shot.Sharpness,details,POV,your cute model and composition are wonderful.Thanks for sharing.

I made it back here Alli!!
Now I can relax and enjoy this site properly!
Nice capture of this little cute squirrel, he looks very innocent (he must have only just seen you!!) Thanks for posting.
Your friend from the land of Cadburys (real chocolate mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!) (I'll send you some for Christmas!)

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