I glanced out the door this afternoon and my eyes were opened to some Red Squirrel mating antics. I got my camera with my 300mm lens and began to shoot through the glass storm door. Photos are obviously better when taken without glass in between, so I quietly went out. It appears that nothing could disturb them, I got as close as 4 feet away. The other male watcher in the wings did scurry under the forsythia bush but the couple kept copulating. There was much rolling around, but he kept a firm grip in her waist through out. They are right on schedule according to the info I found below.
"Red squirrels are solitary but pair for mating in February and March. Females usually breed when they are 1 year old. Red squirrels are territorial but males must temporarily leave their territories to find a reproductive female, and then return after mating. This results in a scramble competition mating system, and multiple breeding partners are selected by both males and females. Females demonstrate sexual selection preference for behavioral rather than morphological characteristics of males."
For the Record,
This day came in sunny with blue skies.
All hands worried about the terrible storms in California.
I retired from public school teaching after happily spending twenty eight years playing in Kindergarten. Now I fill my days watching cat antics, taking endless...
