Saturday, February 13, 2010

The owl and the squirrel

A lesson: never turn your back on a squirrel.
Never turn your back on a squirrel

Getting closer to the unsuspecting owl:
Unsuspecting owl

Actually, these guys seemed to tolerate each other quite nicely. It was sort of surprising to see the squirrels come right up into the owl's space, and that the owl really didn't care. It's more fun to post shots that make it appear as if there was some tension, but really they were pretty indifferent.

Standoff

Both focused on the same thing:
The owl and the squirrel

The California ground squirrels are generally regarded as a nuisance, but when not bothering someone's agriculture or garden, they are actually kind of cute.
California Ground Squirrel

Ground squirrel

4 comments:

  1. I wonder if they ever meet eachother underground. Have a game of checkers, maybe watch some tv?

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  2. Pretty amazing little scene. Nice eye for spotting it!

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  3. Awesome captures. I'm surprised they were so indifferent. Couldn't that burrowing owl make him into a meal? I guess the squirrel is too fast? Your ground squirrels look better then our grays out on the east coast. We have too many if you'd like a donation? Haha. All the best.

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  4. Thanks everyone! lol, John -- perhaps they do! I was really surprised at how chill they were with each other. the owls must really have no chance of taking down prey near their own size. and no thanks on the extra squirrels, Jarred -- we have plenty of those too!

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