Rock squirrel
The squirrels that I normally and often see in Austin are fox squirrels. When I noticed one of a different type sitting on the rail of our deck one day recently, I quickly got my camera and attached my lens with the longest reach, 400mm. The animal, which appears to be a rock squirrel, Spermophilus variegatus, was facing partly away but I took one picture anyhow. When I tried opening the back door to get a better angle, the squirrel ran off. On October 21st I saw it on the rail again, this time in a little better position, and I managed to get the photograph shown here.
© 2018 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Cute shot, he looks like he got caught being sneaky!
bayphotosbydonna
October 28, 2018 at 9:19 AM
I saw this squirrel again yesterday on the deck, from which it jumped up to the same place on the rail. Why it likes that spot, I don’t know.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2018 at 9:50 AM
Looks like you have a new resident. I’ve never even heard of this kind of squirrel. So nice to have something new arrive, isn’t it? This is a wonderful portrait.
melissabluefineart
October 28, 2018 at 10:42 AM
We do seem to have a new resident. For a few years we had a white (but not albino) fox squirrel in the immediate neighborhood, but I haven’t seen it lately so maybe it has died. I was barely aware of rock squirrels, so I hope this one sticks around, at least in part so I can try for a closer portrait. I’m glad you appreciate the current portrait.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2018 at 12:02 PM
We used to have more tree squirrels but over time fox squirrels have out-competed them. We do have some lovely black ones. I’ve heard of white ones. In fact I think there is a town noted for them, isn’t there? I can’t remember where. And we have flying squirrels, too. No moose, though.
melissabluefineart
October 29, 2018 at 8:44 AM
And certainly not a flying moose.
This was the white squirrel:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/white-squirrel/
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/white-squirrel-time-again/
As for the town you referred to, it was apparently known for its albino squirrels:
https://www.businessinsider.com/olney-illinois-weird-white-squirrels-2016-3
Steve Schwartzman
October 29, 2018 at 8:56 AM
Haha, definitely not that! I was mistaken, then. I thought their white squirrels were also not albinos. Yours is quite lovely.
melissabluefineart
October 29, 2018 at 10:05 AM
Too bad I haven’t seen the local white squirrel for some time. If I do see it again, I’ll try to get more pictures, naturally.
Steve Schwartzman
October 29, 2018 at 3:09 PM
Naturally.
melissabluefineart
October 30, 2018 at 9:03 AM
It’s my nature.
Steve Schwartzman
October 30, 2018 at 11:12 AM
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, has white, non-albino squirrels, too. When I was there, I saw the white ones, but only got a photo of one with a pure white tail — a sight that was amusing enough on its own.
shoreacres
October 29, 2018 at 9:55 PM
We visited Eureka Springs about five autumns ago yo hunt for color in the fall foliage. No squirrel came our way to add white to the mix, so only you get to tell that tale.
Steve Schwartzman
October 30, 2018 at 5:26 AM
We just discovered this morning that Punkin is in search of nesting material. Forrest left his muck boots on the back porch and she was inside a boot tearing the insole out!! Ha ha! Generally in autumn and also in late spring, females look for material to line their nests. I keep a basket of various types of cloth, rope, torn up rug strips, old glove discards for the squirrels to use. I’ve even seen birds come to get material.
Perhaps your railing is a good lookout point, or a spot to gain access to something else on your deck! Regardless, you could leave a nut or two out if you wish for this friend to return often! In no time you’ll be able to get the closer shots you’d like. They’re sure a lot of fun to watch and this one will be interesting to observe, in order to see differences in habit from the fox squirrel.
Littlesundog
October 28, 2018 at 12:13 PM
We had the same idea as you after we saw the squirrel for the first time and I didn’t get a good picture. I put a few walnut pieces on the rail to see if they’d serve as bait. The pieces were still there the next day but eventually disappeared; I can’t say if they went to this squirrel or one of the fox squirrels or to some other animal. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to put some more pieces out there and see what happens.
I thought about the rail being a possible lookout, but then I figured that squirrels can climb much higher on any nearby tree they want to—unless this squirrel was looking at something specific for which the rail provided the best view.
I’ve heard of people giving their old clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army but never to squirrels and birds. Maybe you’ll start a trend.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2018 at 1:25 PM
Try pecans. If you can find some natives, those would be even better. I’ve found that walnuts will be ignored even by bluejays — I suppose because they aren’t native around here.
shoreacres
October 29, 2018 at 10:07 PM
We didn’t have any pecans in the house (and still don’t), which is why I went for walnuts. One thing that makes me wonder whether native food would make a difference is that on Long Island we often offered peanuts to the squirrels. I still remember how a squirrel would quickly turn one all the way around lengthwise in its mouth before biting open the shell to get at the peanuts inside.
Steve Schwartzman
October 30, 2018 at 5:40 AM
We have gray squirrels but had the fortune to see a flying squirrel one nite on our bird feeder
norasphotos4u
October 28, 2018 at 8:13 PM
I’ve often seen squirrels jump from tree to tree but I’ve never seen a flying squirrel (which we really should call a gliding squirrel). I see that there are some 50 species of them.
Steve Schwartzman
October 28, 2018 at 9:18 PM
He or she does not look happy about getting his or her picture taken.
tonytomeo
October 28, 2018 at 10:09 PM
I got the impression that this rock squirrel is more skittish than the usual fox squirrels.
Steve Schwartzman
October 29, 2018 at 5:52 AM
A new one for me, too!
Robert Parker
October 29, 2018 at 5:38 AM
I found a map of this species’ range, which goes nowhere near New York:
http://www.nhptv.org/Natureworks/rocksquirrel.htm
Austin appears to be barely included in the range.
Steve Schwartzman
October 29, 2018 at 5:56 AM
Handsome squirrel! Obviously looking for some mischief to get into.
montucky
October 29, 2018 at 11:29 AM
Too bad you won’t see it get into any mischief up your way. The closest that species comes to Montana is Utah and Colorado.
Steve Schwartzman
October 29, 2018 at 3:11 PM
Outside Kerrville, the rock squirrels are relatively common in the limestone cliffs that surround the springs and creeks. They tend not to chatter like fox squirrels; their call is more like a sharp whistle. Now and then, we’d hear that call, and with a little looking could find the critters on the rock face. They’ll climb plants, too. A friend found one perched about halfway up a century plant stalk.
shoreacres
October 29, 2018 at 10:05 PM
A squirrel halfway up a century plant stalk: it’s going on three-quarters of a century and I’ve never seen that from any kind of squirrel. As for noise, the rock squirrel we saw made none any of the times we saw it, so we never got to hear that whistling you mentioned. If I do hear any unfamiliar whistling, I’ll give a good look around.
Steve Schwartzman
October 30, 2018 at 5:34 AM
Ah made me smile … 🙂
Julie@frogpondfarm
November 3, 2018 at 1:08 AM
That’s appropriate, especially considering the Smilax that came two posts earlier.
Steve Schwartzman
November 3, 2018 at 5:46 AM
That is a very unique squirrel! It’s always special when creatures from the natural world deem us as ‘suitable neighbors’ — in time that squirrel will hopefully become a backyard mascot!
Playamart - Zeebra Designs
January 15, 2019 at 11:14 AM
Eve enjoys watching it on the railing. It hasn’t been there often enough, and it’s too skittish to qualify as a mascot.
Steve Schwartzman
January 15, 2019 at 12:01 PM
[…] in the summer of 2019 we’d seen rock squirrels (Otospermophilus variegatus) on our back deck, especially on one section of the railing. As the year went by and we advanced into the spring of 2020 we didn’t see them any more. […]
The next generation | Portraits of Wildflowers
May 15, 2020 at 4:39 AM