Friday, June 3, 2016

6.3.16  Bird Nerd Moment - Marshview Room - Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Brewster, MA

Yes, I love creatures of all shapes and sizes.  One of the best tips to keep in mind when identifying birds is their size and shape - combined as a silhouette.  It can work with mammals too, especially when they're all next to each other like comparing these three familiar rodents.  (photographed below)  Not everyone is as familiar with American Red Squirrels as they most likely are with Eastern Gray Squirrels (the most often seen rodent in these parts for sure) and Eastern Chipmunks.  The Marshview Room at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster typically offers excellent viewing of all three of these species.  They seem to forage constantly...storing food for less than optimal weather. The Eastern Chipmunks are extra fun to observe as they dart and spring about!  They'll even boss around some of the birds. Admittedly, the photos here are not fabulous.  I couldn't ask them to pose all at once, looking directly at me.  I've been wanting to get photos of the three together for a LONG time.  It's interesting to see the size difference when they are in such close proximity.   (double click photos to enlarge)

Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, American Red Squirrel

 American Red Squirrel, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk

 American Red Squirrel (bottom left), Eastern Gray Squirrel (top on feeder), 
Eastern Chipmunk (bottom right)

Happy Birding... and mammaling!

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