Watching Squirrels In My Garden Became A Morning Ritual During Lockdown, Here Are 15 Photos That I Took

How a Tiny Backyard “Safari” Turned Into My Daily Reset

During lockdown, mornings got weird. Commutes vanished, calendars melted, and the concept of “weekday energy” quietly left the building.
I needed something small but real to anchor the daysomething that wasn’t a screen, a notification, or an ambitious new hobby I’d abandon by Thursday.

Enter: squirrels. Specifically, the squirrels in my gardenthe ones who treat gravity like a suggestion and my bird feeder like a personal buffet.
I started noticing them while making coffee. At first it was casual: a quick glance out the window, a “wow, that one is fearless,” and then back to the
day’s uncertainty. But soon, it became a ritual. Coffee in hand. Curtain slightly cracked. Camera ready. And there they weretiny acrobats with big opinions.

This wasn’t just entertainment. It was a kind of mindfulness that didn’t demand I sit on a cushion and pretend my thoughts weren’t sprinting.
Watching backyard wildlifeespecially something as expressive as a squirrelgave me a gentle focus: motion, patterns, little dramas, and the comfort of a world
that kept spinning even when everything felt paused.

Why Squirrels Make Surprisingly Great Morning Company

Squirrels are daytime creatures, which is perfect if your new pandemic personality is “awake at 6:12 a.m. for no reason.” They’re also
endlessly adaptable: they forage, stash food, navigate obstacles, and improvise solutions with the confidence of a toddler who has discovered a step stool.

They’re not just cutethey’re busy. Many tree squirrels gather and store food in buried caches instead of hibernating through winter, which means
their daily schedule includes a lot of “find it, stash it, defend it, forget it, remember it, re-stash it somewhere better.” In other words:
same, buddy.

Andthis is importantthey’re funny. Not “they told a joke” funny, but “they tried to look casual after falling off a fence” funny.
Their faces are expressive, their body language is dramatic, and their athleticism is occasionally followed by a moment that says,
“I meant to do that.”

A Quick Backyard Field Guide: Who Might Be Visiting Your Garden

Depending on where you live in the United States, your garden regulars may differ. But most backyard squirrel storylines feature a few usual suspects:

Eastern Gray Squirrel

The classic. Gray, fluffy, and often bold. They’re known for food caching and can be seen digging little holes with the seriousness of someone
burying treasurebecause to them, it is treasure.

Fox Squirrel

Bigger body, warmer coloring, and the energy of a friendly heavyweight. They’re also enthusiastic foragers. If a gray squirrel is a parkour athlete,
a fox squirrel is a powerlifter who occasionally parkours anyway.

Red Squirrel (in some regions)

Smaller, quicker, and louder about everything. If you hear a lot of scolding and see a small blur of determination, you might be dealing with a red squirrel.

No matter the species, remember: squirrels are wild animals. Observing them is a joy. Turning them into tiny outdoor roommates is… less ideal.

Squirrel Behavior 101: What You’re Actually Watching

Once I started paying attention, I realized squirrel life is basically a reality show with recurring plotlinesjust with more seeds.
Here are a few behaviors that made my morning watches way more interesting:

The Great Cache-and-Forget (and Remember) Cycle

Many squirrels “scatter-hoard,” meaning they stash food in multiple locations. They rely on a mix of memory, landmarks, and smell to recover their
hidden snacks later. Some even adjust their caching strategies based on whether other squirrels are watchingbecause yes, squirrel espionage is real.

Tail Flicks, Freezes, and the “I See You” Stare

That tail twitch isn’t always random cuteness. Tail movements can show alertness, irritation, or “something is sketchy.” When a squirrel freezes,
it’s often doing the math: distance to cover, threat level, escape route, pride.

Soft Diplomacy vs. Full-Volume Scolding

Sometimes squirrels tolerate each other with cautious spacing. Other times, they turn into tiny megaphones of outrage.
If you’ve ever been judged loudly by an animal the size of a loaf of bread, you know the vibe.

Opportunistic Eating (They’re Not Just “Nut Animals”)

Backyard squirrels are best described as adaptable omnivores. Nuts and seeds matter, but they’ll also sample buds, fruits, fungi, and whatever else
seems remotely edible. The takeaway: if you think you’ve “outsmarted” a squirrel, give it two business days.

How to Watch Squirrels Without Turning Your Garden Into a Chaos Buffet

I’m not here to scold anyone’s backyard joy. But there’s a difference between observing wildlife and accidentally creating a squirrel dependency program.
If you do anything beyond watching, keep it gentle and responsible:

Prioritize Water Over Snacks

A clean water source (like a bird bath) can be more helpful than feedingespecially in hot weather. Keep it fresh and clean. You’ll likely attract
more wildlife than just squirrels, which is basically a bonus season of your backyard show.

If You Feed, Keep It Occasional and Appropriate

Squirrels don’t need humans to feed them. If you choose to offer food, keep it minimal and avoid salty, processed, or sugary items.
Think simple: unsalted nuts, small pieces of fruit or vegetablesnothing seasoned, nothing “people snacks.”

Don’t Hand-Feed (Cute Today, Problem Tomorrow)

Hand-feeding encourages animals to approach people, which can lead to bites, stress, and unsafe encounters. Keep your relationship at the level of
“neighbor who waves politely,” not “best friend who climbs into your lap.”

Bird Feeder Drama? Use Humane Deterrents

If squirrels are dominating your bird feeder, physical barriers like baffles and smart placement can help keep things balanced.
You can still enjoy squirrelsjust not as the sole owners of the birdseed economy.

15 Photos From My Lockdown Morning Ritual (With Captions)

Below are 15 moments I captured. Swap the image src values with your actual filenames or URLs. I wrote the captions the way I experienced them:
part nature journal, part comedy, part “why do I love these tiny gremlins so much?”

What I Learned (Besides “Squirrels Fear Nothing”)

Over time, I started recognizing individuals by tiny differencesfur tone, ear shape, tail fullness, boldness level.
I stopped seeing “a squirrel” and started seeing a community: the cautious one, the loud one, the fearless climber, the opportunist who always arrives
five minutes after the feeder is refilled like it’s subscribed to my schedule.

I also learned that my garden wasn’t just my garden. It was a living place with routes, boundaries, and resources.
When I adjusted somethingmoved a pot, changed a feeder spot, added waterit changed the patterns.
Watching that cause-and-effect made me feel connected to something grounded and immediate, which mattered a lot when the bigger world felt unreal.

Quick Photography Tips for Capturing Squirrels Without Losing Your Mind

If You’re Using a Phone

• Use burst mode for action (running, jumping, dramatic tail flicks).
• Tap to focus on the eye area; faces sell the story.
• Stabilize your elbows on a windowsill or chair to cut blur.

If You’re Using a Camera

• Fast shutter speed for motion (squirrels are basically small furry rockets).
• Continuous autofocus helps with unpredictable movement.
• Don’t chaselet them enter your frame. Squirrels sense desperation.

Most importantly: aim for storytelling, not perfection. A slightly imperfect shot with personality beats a technically flawless photo that feels empty.

Extended Lockdown Journal: of Squirrel-Watching Experiences

The funny thing about a ritual is how it sneaks up on you. One morning you’re just staring out the window because the news is exhausting, and the next
morning you’re adjusting your mug placement like you’re setting a stage: coffee on the left, camera on the right, curtain opened exactly two inches so the
reflection doesn’t ruin the shot. I didn’t plan to become “the squirrel person.” I simply drifted there the way many of us drifted into odd comforts during lockdown.

At first, I thought the squirrels were just backgroundlike moving décor. But the longer I watched, the more I noticed patterns. There was a timing to
everything: the early scout who showed up like a punctual coworker, the mid-morning chaos when two squirrels would appear at once and immediately decide the
yard wasn’t big enough for both of their ambitions, and the quiet stretch when the birds arrived and the squirrels pretended they weren’t watching them.

I also noticed how quickly the squirrels learned. If I shifted something in the garden, it didn’t take long before they investigated it with the same
seriousness you’d expect from a home inspector. A new planter? Inspected. A moved chair? Checked for snacks. A freshly filled feeder? Treated like an
emergency meeting. Their curiosity wasn’t cute in a passive wayit was active, relentless, and honestly kind of inspiring when my own motivation was running low.

Some mornings, the ritual was pure comedy: a squirrel attempting a dramatic leap and misjudging the landing, then immediately freezing as if to say,
“No one saw that.” Other mornings, it was calmer. I’d watch one sit in a patch of sunlight, nibbling slowly, and feel my shoulders drop without me asking
them to. I didn’t need the moment to be profound; it was enough that it was real.

Over weeks, I started photographing less for “the perfect shot” and more for memory. The photos became little time stampsevidence that the days were
passing, that I was paying attention, that I had a relationship with my own space. When everything outside felt uncertain, these tiny backyard scenes
reminded me that life continues in small, steady ways: foraging, resting, watching, adapting. And if a squirrel can face an obstacle, reassess, and try a new
route five seconds later, then maybe I can tooafter I finish my coffee, obviously.