Always nice to capture images of a new species. I’ve seen flying squirrels on a few occasions but never photographed one. Although common, they are rarely seen as they are strictly nocturnal and shy. Last night I was walking around the woods behind my house with a headlamp when I saw this little guy running up and down a tree trunk, and then gliding from one tree to another. Quite a sight to see at close range. They are so silent as they move through the forest. Now I just need to figure out how to capture a shot of one gliding through the air. There are two types of flying squirrel in Connecticut, the southern and the northern. The southern are much more widespread in the state. I’m pretty sure that’s what this guy is, although it’s tough to distinguish one from the other. They’re about the size of a chipmunk but appear larger when their loose skin is expanded for flight. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/8 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash.
Sean, come to my house where those little Nothern variety peckers have chewed a hole in my soffit and are scurrying around in the ceiling above my bedroom…
Very cool photograph. Was your headlamp the only lighting you had for this? My husband has been known to go wandering around at night with his headlamp on … but he doesn’t take a camera with him. 🙂
Thanks Karen. No, I had a single flash held remotely from my camera on a stand. If the squirrel had been further away, it likely would have had red eye but it was so close that I was able to avoid it.
My cat brought a live one in my house a couple of years ago and let it go. I chased it around our playroom with an oven mit and tennis racket, finally driving it out the back window, where it glided gracefully about 12 feet to a bush. There seem to be a lot around here.
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Always nice to capture images of a new species. I’ve seen flying squirrels on a few occasions but never photographed one. Although common, they are rarely seen as they are strictly nocturnal and shy. Last night I was walking around the woods behind my house with a headlamp when I saw this little guy running up and down a tree trunk, and then gliding from one tree to another. Quite a sight to see at close range. They are so silent as they move through the forest. Now I just need to figure out how to capture a shot of one gliding through the air. There are two types of flying squirrel in Connecticut, the southern and the northern. The southern are much more widespread in the state. I’m pretty sure that’s what this guy is, although it’s tough to distinguish one from the other. They’re about the size of a chipmunk but appear larger when their loose skin is expanded for flight. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/8 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash.
Somewhere on the internet there’s a blog where animals post pictures of the weird bald man they see wandering around the wood at night. Somewhere.
We need to find that blog if it’s the last thing we do.
This doesn’t look like a squirrel at all. Does it have wings??? Like bats? I hope you can capture one in flight because this is fascinating.
It has loose flaps of skin that connect the arms to the legs. While in “flight” it looks square. More of a parachute type action as it glides.
Sean, come to my house where those little Nothern variety peckers have chewed a hole in my soffit and are scurrying around in the ceiling above my bedroom…
Lucky guy. All I have in my house are stink bugs.
Very cool photograph. Was your headlamp the only lighting you had for this? My husband has been known to go wandering around at night with his headlamp on … but he doesn’t take a camera with him. 🙂
Thanks Karen. No, I had a single flash held remotely from my camera on a stand. If the squirrel had been further away, it likely would have had red eye but it was so close that I was able to avoid it.
great pic. ) have you had any in nite trap, flying from tree tree, ) ?
Hi Michael, I had one on the ground in the leaves but not a good shot.
My cat brought a live one in my house a couple of years ago and let it go. I chased it around our playroom with an oven mit and tennis racket, finally driving it out the back window, where it glided gracefully about 12 feet to a bush. There seem to be a lot around here.