Gotta Love the Little Guys

(June 22nd) Still feeling a bit of wanderlust, it was time to try out another place. I went to Gallup Park. This is a great place for canoeing, jogging, biking, etc. but I wasn't sure how it would be for photographing. A lot of people go here, so the odds of having stuff scared away are pretty big. On the other hand, the wildlife will be relatively accustomed to people so maybe you can get close than usual before they scare it away. It started off with a very foggy morning. Yet again totall failure at capturing fog. But shortly after the fog burned away leaving behind some great soft, warm light. I quickly found an Eastern Chipmunk who let me approach nice and close.

The orioles were calling like crazy in Gallup Park. I never realized how many where here. Most were Baltimore Orioles, but I also found this Orchard Oriole, a pretty uncommon bird in Ann Arbor. He's all messy and wet from the dew on the leaves in the early morning.

The chipmunks at Gallup were great. Sure they'd run away if another person walked down the trail, but if I found a spot a little distance from the trails the had no problem letting me get close and it was real close - as close as I could have wanted for an animal their size. Sometimes they were too close to fit in the frame, but I tended to like shots with some room in the frame.

They put on a show with lots of behavior - climbing trees, hopping through the grass, feeding, chasing each other, etc. I had a tough time holding in a laugh when this one scratched an itch in front of me. One of the poses he gave me was so funny, but there was a twig in the background which I didn't like. This shot is the best of him scratching with a clean background.

The chipmunks gave me lots of angles, not just from the tree. These pictures were my favorites on the day though, so I apologize if you find the variety lacking. All in all, almost 100 pictures of chipmunks. Many of them in great poses like this one. It felt great to accomplish that in about an hour after striking out big time on the mist.