To be quite honest, I was not aware of how many different species of Squirrels there are prior to becoming a full-time photographer and artist. When photographing these squirrels at Mt. Lassen National Park I knew that I had not seen this specific species before. After my photo session I had to look up what this species is called and it was a surprise to me to learn that they are called Douglas’ Squirrels.

Some animal species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, marine life, etc., have honorific names. These names are usually given to honor the person that notably "discovered” a particular species. Douglas’ Squirrel was named after David Douglas, a Scottish botanist that explored the Pacific Northwest.

Honorific names are being phased out a bit in bird species in favor of names that are more characteristic of the bird or if the person has a controversial past. Honorific names are not being changed as broadly in other species types at the moment.

BAM☺︎

This was an early morning shot. The sun had just come up to the left of the frame over a mountain range. The trees in the background would not get the sun’s light until later in the morning so the background remained a bit darker as everything was still in shadow at this time. Since the Osprey was flying towards me it happened to bit in an area where the Sun’s rays were able to shine on it which made the feathers illuminate like this. Unfortunately the Osprey was quite a distance away from me so the bird itself is not super sharp but it’s still a special shot. You might notice other little glowing dots in the photo. When you see things like that it is usually bugs flying around that are also lit up by the Sun.

BAM☺︎

I can't get enough of this photograph.

BAM☺︎