western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus)

Funny timing for this sighting:

I had unsuccessfully spent many hours the previous couple days trying to find my first Western Gray. Now on my final day in California, I was wandering around Turtle Bay waiting for a phone call confirming a behind the scenes encounter with their long-tailed weasel- a species I had only photographed once, in winter form, at Brookfield Zoo (albeit a different subspecies) in 2006.

30 minutes or so pass and I receive a phone call from the front desk of the zoo. At first I'm feeling pretty good about my chances- but as the conversation progressed I realized it wasn't going to work out. The keeper explained to me that the animal had already been fed a couple hours earlier and the next chance for handling wouldn't be until 3/4 PM. Alas! It was 1pm and I only had an additional 30 minutes to spare before leaving for our next destination.

Unfortunate news immediately followed by a squirrel sighting out of the corner of my eye! I hastily ended the phone call as un-rudely as possibly and quickly got to photographing! The animal that had eluded me for the previous 3 days, just showed up the exact moment I learned I'd be missing out on my top captive target.

A lifer in place of a new subspecies/improved photo. This was a trade I happily accepted!