Exit78 Photo of the Day #104
Chickaree, aka American red squirrel, Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, September 3, 2009 (Pentax K10D)
We’ve taken the 1 mile or so trail around Rocky Mountain National Park’s Bear Lake a number of times over the years. On this trip, we had heard a chickaree or two chattering and scolding in the woods, but were surprised to come around the bend and find this fellow smack dab in the middle of the trail.
Chickaree (Wikipedia)
The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii, and Mearns’s squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, and chickarees. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific Coast of the United States, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels.
Series notes:
- The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
- Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
