Red Squirrels in Volkspark Hasenheide
By Corey • October 24, 2007 • 3 commentsIn addition to the birds I saw in Berlin’s Volkspark Hasenheide I also saw Eurasian Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). These are not the tiny North American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) that I’m used to but bigger beasts with adorable ear tufts. I only saw a couple, and both were in the northwestern part of the park, near a fenced-in cemetery which I assume gave them a place to retreat to when harassed by the all-too-common-in-Berlin unleashed dogs.
I was amazed by their acrobatic abilities and I would think that they would give Grey Squirrels a run for their money. I would think that, anyway, if I didn’t know what has happened in competition between the two in Britain.
Anyway, my first encounter with a Eurasian Red Squirrel was a distant look that gradually got better as the squirrel got closer. I came within inches of getting a great shot of it leaping. Just to share my misery here it is:
just a bit out of focus
I like this shot much more, despite the rather poor light.
How cool are those ears?
The last picture I got, and none of these pictures do this adorable mammal justice, should have been a full-frame picture of the the squirrel on the ground. But just as it was about to emerge from behind some bushes within about two meters of me, in perfect light, a mangy, foul, evil, unleashed dog came along and scared it up a tree, leaving me with this so-so consolation shot that at least captures its color rather well:
Anyway, seeing a new species of squirrel was a treat and I hoped you liked these rather average shots. But if you want to see some good pictures, well, we here at 10,000 Birds are here to please. Just click here.
• Looking for a good book or field guide? We've got some suggestions... •
I really like squirrels and was so happy about seeing three species + chipmunks + woodchucks regularly around Ann Arbor.
Unfortunately, we only have this one species in Germany and it is not very common, e.g. I have never seen one up here on the Baltic coast.
This is why Europeans don’t really understand all those devices North American birders are using to keep them away from their bird feeders.
I’d LOVE to have a squirrel at my feeder.
I’d love to have a feeder in my back yard in the first place, which reminds me: I’d really love to have a back yard one day…
aaahhh, a back yard…someday!
[...] North American Red Squirrels By Corey • November 7, 2007 • 5 comments A full day’s birding in the Adirondacks and along Lake Champlain on Tuesday with Will from The Nightjar was an absolute blast. We saw just over fifty species of bird and had a great time (and I added three birds to my New York State Big Year List). But this post isn’t about the birds; it’s about the American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), one of two squirrels in the genus Tamiasciurus, or pine squirrels (the other is the Pacific Coast’s Douglas Squirrel). The American Red Squirrel is an entirely different creature than the similarly-named Eurasian Red Squirrel. [...]