Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

This Grey Squirrel steadfastly refused to play ball with the camera this morning. Each time I moved slightly one way to the left or right it would, in turn, move a little bit further around the tree. In the end, I took the only shot on offer to me, focusing on the rodent's claw as it dug into the bark of the tree. I'm glad I did – the texture in the bough of the tree is wonderful and, rotated 90º anti-clockwise, the image serves up an interesting perspective. The squirrel's long tail hugs the contours of the tree and, with only the squirrel's left forearm, claw and large ear visible, the shot is very unlike the conventional squirrel image. One of those worth a click-through to a larger version…

Canon 1Ds MkII, Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens, 1/320 sec, f/5.6, 400mm at ISO 400