In just about five weeks I should be able to take my first of year Uinta Ground Squirrel photos up in the sage-covered, grassy parts of the Wasatch Mountains.
Uinta Ground Squirrel with spring grasses – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Last year on April 7th I took my first of spring Uinta Ground Squirrel photos in Summit County. The morning started off cold but the sun soon warmed me up. Once I found my first ground squirrel I was so excited I could barely sit still in my Jeep. I had waited since the previous summer to see these squirrels again and it seemed like forever since I had seen them. It feels the same way this morning as I write this.
That morning I must have photographed about a dozen of the fuzzy ground squirrels along with the birds I found.
We’ve had more snow this winter than we have had in about five or six years so it may be a while before I can drive on the dirt roads. It’s difficult for me to contain my excitement!
I have so much fun photographing Uinta Ground Squirrels each year. The adults come out of the burrows first and they are great subjects. It’s when the babies come above ground that my joy level triples and quadruples because they are so freaking cute.
It has been a long gray winter here.
Just thinking that in about five weeks I will have these cuties in my viewfinder again. That will make the last of winter go a bit faster for me. Or at least that what I am hoping on this windy winter morning.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Uinta Ground Squirrel photos plus facts and information about this species.
Beautiful Uinta Ground Squirrel shot!
It’s sad to think the Great Salt Lake is on a path to drying up by 2028! What will Utah do then? Will its boundary states share some of their water?
WOW! Such a shame people aren’t more concious of environmental and wildlife requirements. But, if it is NOT taught in schools we end up where everyone has to suffer in the long run!
Great shot and I understand your excitement!
Question: Do you think all the snow and rain you are receiving will help Great Salt Lake?
Thanks Dick!
Regarding the Great Salt Lake and the snow we have received this winter: I think it will help in the short term but that the moisture we have gotten is nothing more than a bandaid. Long term, it isn’t going to help much, maybe it will make it six years until the lake is dead instead of five.
People here waste water like no where else I have ever lived and it is a desert. From the water sucking bluegrass lawns to growing crops in a desert better suited to moister climates, people here are just wasting water that wildlife needs.