Saturday, December 6, 2008

Camera Critters: Woody Woodchuck


You can tell by the green grass I took this in the summer when I had a groundhog visiting my backyard. The photos are taken through my sunroom window. Here he was coming around the flower bed under my oak tree. (Enlarge to see his cute little eyes and his mouth nibbling on the grass.)
As he moved a little closer to the window I got another shot as he nibbled on the grass. I had seem him a couple of times and he was always moving quickly. He always proceeded down the flowerbed by the side of the house. I took my camera and quietly went out the front door. He was nibbling grass at the corner of the house unaware I was standing there watching him. I thought I would get a better shot for sure but then he heard a lawnmover and......
.... off he starting running down the side of the house and zoomed down the hillside into the nearby woods. He started to run faster than I thought a groundhog could possibly run. If you enlarge this one look at his fur all smoothed back. It was because he was really running at this point. I was surprised this shot even came out. I had expected a blur!

To see more Camera Critters click on the badge at the top of my post to visit Misty, our hostess, and all the other participants playing along today. You never know what you'll see!

44 comments:

magiceye said...

superb captures all!

Anonymous said...

You've got some truly wild and awesome friends who visit your place. Nice of them to pose for pictures -- even while running away!

judi/Gmj said...

I didn't know Woodchucks were that fast either. I love the expression on it's face in the first photo, It's all about the greens.

Neal said...

Great captures Carletta! Read this to answer the woodchuck question. :)

EG CameraGirl said...

Good catches, Carletta. Ha! I tried to capture a photo of one last October in Upstate New York and all I got was its backside!

Leedra said...

At a different house we had a groundhog living under the back screened porch. I could step out on the screened porch and he would go 'flying' back to his hiding place right under where I was standing. I wish I had been using digital back then, so I could share them now. It was so funny to see him running toward you to get away from you. I understand what you mean by how fast they run.

Pappy said...

How much ground could a ground hog hog if a groundhog could hog ground. Sorry, that was a woodchuck wasn't it? Great pictures. Pappy

JunieRose2005 said...

I like seeing all your visitors, Carletta!

You have a wonderful life there! :)



Junie

Raven said...

I just love those guys. They are amazingly fast, aren't they? My little guy - who hasn't visited in quite a while - is kind enough to loiter at time and pose for me. Alas, I haven't seen him (her?) in ages. My neighbors said there were babies but I never got to see them. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

You left a comment on my blog "Many Blessings!"..Thank you...and I have never seen a ground hog before. We get muskrats, but not ground hogs..

Anonymous said...

wow! great shot it's beautiful! glad you capture him so nicely even if he is so fast and quick to move.

Rose said...

Nice captures! Did he eat any of your flowers?

juliana said...

wow, you have the most amazing visitors in your yard, and they pose for you, too ;)

Anonymous said...

Taken from the window? Wow.. that is so awesome!

My critter is posted here. Have a look if you have the time. Thanks!

Jane Hards Photography said...

You do have a collection around you to rival DR Dolittle. Another great series of shots.

Anonymous said...

He's very cute. I never thought about how fast they could or couldn't run.

Teena in Toronto said...

So that's what a hedgehog looks like!

I played too :)

i beati said...

Lookin good old Woody ..Sandy

Anonymous said...

I guess all wild animals are fast eh! that's cool pictures of groundhog. Never seen one in person yet.

Becky said...

A cute little critter he is. I like the green grass too. Good to see when we're all buried in snow!

Indrani said...

A ground hog as visitor!
It must have been a thrill capturing it in your lens.

Chrissy said...

Fantastic capture! Never realized they moved so fast.

david mcmahon said...

Seriously, how much wood did he chuck?

Grammy said...

Great photos.We had one who took over our house when we were not here. He sat in out lazy boy and slept in our bed. He broke in all kinds of places. He is gone now that we live here perminitly.
This is my first time on Camera critters.
Have a great week.
Grammy

Anonymous said...

I wish we had a ground hog now and then but we had more crawdads over the years than ground hogs.

dot said...

Cute little critter! He was really getting gone in that last one.

Willard said...

Carletta, I enjoyed the woodchuck photos very much. It is brutally cold here today, and those photos make me think of the more pleasant days of summer.

DeniseinVA said...

Cute little guy, great photos. They are hard to photograph.

Gattina said...

What a cute little animal ! I have never seen one life ! only on pictures.

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

Great photos, I don't think I've ever seen a groundhog before!

Gretchen said...

Great shots of him! Have a wonderful Sunday. :)

Oh, that begs the question, How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Lilli & Nevada said...

Wow that was a good shot

b13 said...

Is it springtime yet?

Janet, said...

I like groundhogs, too. We came home one day (this was a few years ago) and found one sitting up in our tree. I'd never seen one in a tree before.

Kerri Farley said...

WOW! Those are great! I've never gotten a shot of one.

Cathy said...

Why did I start reciting "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck..."? Wonderful photos! Your comment on my blog made a rather dreary day much brighter--thanks!

Misty DawnS said...

Great shots! What a cute visitor to have (as long as he doesn't start nibbling away at your flowers hehe).

Dr.John said...

Not my favorite creature but very good pictures.

Shelly said...

Those little stinkers kinda creep me out. We had to evict them from the cabin when we bought it, they were using the whole place as their...ahem...restroom, it was...ahem...yucky.

Anonymous said...

So, that's what a woodchuck looks like! Cool! :-)

Merisi said...

Well captured!

Makes me miss my old home in DC,
where I know a place where a groundhog liked to sit at the curb and watch the traffic go by. I wonder if he is still out there.

Craver Vii said...

Yeah, it's cute and all, but is it cute enough to forgive the damage it brings to the lawn? Notice how it flees, like a criminal who is obviously guilty.

George Townboy said...

You get all the cool animals in your backyard! Another fantastic post.

Anonymous said...

WONDERFUL closeups! We have these critters in our backyard, but I didn't have a zoom then, so no pics. I enjoyed the info you added about them. Thx.