This shot will make even the Flying Wallendas dizzy.
From the first day I started taking pictures of squirrels for this blog, the crown jewel I’ve always wanted for my collection has been a photo of a squirrel in mid-leap high up in a tree. Of all the amazing things squirrels can do, their death defying stunts they perform 
many, many feet off the ground have to be the most awe inspiring. And what cooler shot could there be than a squirrel flying through the air like Bullwinkle’s pal Rocky did?
I’ve gotten one photo like that in the past from more of a side angle and with the squirrel’s head partially obscured by the tree. I took the one above towards the end of my visit to the local park on Thursday…. when the weather was finally beautiful and the squirrels were as plentiful and as active as I’ve ever seen them. It was bound to happen, and here it is…
It’s not quite the perfect shot since there’s still motion blur on the squirrel, and I’m pretty sure my then-brand new camera was on a different setting when I took this old shot, making crystal clear motion a practical impossibility for me anymore. But I was as excited as hell when I saw this come up as the result on my camera’s screen, and it may be as close to that sciurine photography nirvana as I’ll ever reach…
This week’s acrobatic Saturday Squirrel, captured for you all to marvel at. And yes, he did stick his landing. Of course he did, he’s a squirrel…
Have a great weekend everyone!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
That’s a great capture……and a perfect squirrel post for St. Pat’s Day because I’ll be darned if the guy doesn’t look like he’s dancing an Irish jig!!!
Pam and Ted O’Bean
He certainly has the luck of the Irish with him…. as did I to get that picture in the first place!
Great shot!
Thank you!
I’m glad you said he landed okay – I was wondering while reading!
It would have been bittersweet to have gotten my very first flying squirrel photo, and while I’m marveling over it in the viewfinder, the squirrel comes crashing down in a heap at my feet…..
That’s amazing! My attempts to capture squirrels leaping always result in an empty frame. They’re just too fast for my slow sensory processing centers!
I have so many empty and blurry images from trying to take pictures when they’re moving around in the trees. I think it’s impossible to get a really good shot of a leaping squirrel without a very good camera. And this one was just overdue blind luck that he happened to be in the frame when the picture actually took,….
Great shot! Not many chances to catch them mid air!
Thanks! I’d say there’s many chances to catch them in mid air (at least in a place like my park where there’s many trees near each other)…. it’s just almost impossible to actually capture any of those chances!
Great leaping shot! Wish I’d taken it.
It’s the result of blind luck and almost seven years now of perseverance. I’d have long given up on taking a picture like this in the age of film photography…