This week’s Flora and Fauna Friday is a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) in the late spring. Alternative common English names include Striped Gopher and Leopard Ground Squirrel.
Photographed near Punnichy on the Saskatchewan, Canada prairies in the late 1990s.
When I read the prompt for the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge: Funny Furry Friends I had a few options.
There’s no shortage of furry friends within yards of where I sit writing this with Squirrels, Chipmunks and even Raccoons visiting the yard in Ontario, Canada on a regular basis.
However, I haven’t spent months digitising my slide archives not to make use of the digital versions. So here’s a small selection of furry friends from Shropshire, England and Saskatchewan, Canada.
A European Rabbit photographed on the Brown Moss Nature Reserve near Whitchurch, Shropshire, England.
A Richardson’s Ground Squirrel looking for something to eat in the spring having just emerged from hibernation. Photographed near Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
This Striped Skunk was photographed at Middle Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada in the spring. I was looking for migrant birds when it wandered out of the vegetation along the shoreline.
This is a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel. Photographed in the spring near Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada. I have never worked out which lines on the ground squirrels body you are supposed to count to get 13.
This is my contribution to Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy Challenge: Sit in the Sunshine.
One photo came to mind almost instantly when I read the prompt for week 4 of the challenge. After that it was simply a case of finding a couple more photos to go with it.
A Dunnock sitting in the sun in Hatherton, Cheshire, England. Its feathers are fluffed up because it’s sunbathing which is why it came to mind so quickly.
A Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel sits in the sun having just emerged from its burrow in the spring. Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
An American Red Squirrel sitting in the sun on the South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada.
This is my contribution for day 13 of Becky’s October Squares: Lines photo challenge and a shot I delayed posting until the thirteenth.
For day 13 I give you a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel in the spring looking for some fresh grass to eat. Taken near Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
This is my contribution to the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge: Between the Lines.
Between the Lines of tree trunks in the autumn.
Between the Lines of my fingerprint in Sodium Thiosulfate crystals.
Between the Lines of bark on a tree trunk.
Between the Lines of a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel.
Between the Lines of quartz in a boulder.
Between the Lines of ice on Lake Huron at dusk in the spring.
Throwback Thursday travels back to Saskatchewan, Canada in the mid 1990s.
This is a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) in the summer. Other common English names include the Striped Gopher and Leopard Ground Squirrel,
Sometimes regarded as a pest by farmers and ranchers due to their burrow systems the species is widely distributed across North American prairies and grasslands. It is known for standing upright and checking its territory, probably looking out for predators and rivals.
My contribution to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Hands.
I decided that a sideways look at the challenge was in order and ignored my photos featuring human hands. Instead I decided that the front paws of some mammal species are used in a similar way to human hands.
A Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel eating whatever it can find in the spring having just emerged from hibernation in Saskatchewan, Canada.
An American Red Squirrel using its front paws to eat bird seed under the feeders in Ontario, Canada.
An Eastern Chipmunk displaying an impressive set of claws in Ontario, Canada.
A Racoon that wandered into the yard one afternoon eating the dog food in Ontario, Canada. I focused on the animal’s paws.
An Eastern Gray Squirrel eating a berry at -30°C in Saskatchewan, Canada. There’s frost on the tips of some of the tail hairs.
A Grey Squirrel eating an Acorn in Cheshire, England. A North American species introduced to the U.K. where it has driven the native Red Squirrel in to small, isolated groups.
