Mammal field guide · Squirrels

Photographing the Cliff Chipmunk

How to photograph the Cliff Chipmunk (Neotamias dorsalis): the right lens for its size, shutter speeds for perched and moving animals, and when it's most often seen (May, June, July and August).

12–70 cm1/2000 s

12–70 cm

Typical length (family range)

1/800 s

Shutter: perched / still

1/2000 s

Shutter: action / flight

f/5.6–f/8

Aperture

3,616

Research-grade sightings in N. America

Recommended camera settings#

ModeManual + Auto ISOLock shutter & aperture, let ISO float

Shutter (still)1/800 s

Shutter (action)1/2000 s

Aperturef/5.6–f/8

FocusAF-C + subject/eye detectionGet down to eye level; a long lens with close focus (or an extension tube) helps with small subjects.

DriveHigh-speed burst

Lens100–400 mmFull-frame equivalent

Focal length needed to frame it#

For a subject about 41 cm long filling a third or half of the frame width horizontally.

Distance	⅓ of frame (FF)	½ of frame (FF)	⅓ of frame (APS-C)	⅓ of frame (MFT)
5 m (16 ft)	141 mm	210 mm	94 mm	70 mm
10 m (33 ft)	282 mm	421 mm	188 mm	141 mm
15 m (49 ft)	422 mm	631 mm	282 mm	211 mm
20 m (66 ft)	563 mm	841 mm	375 mm	282 mm
30 m (98 ft)	845 mm	1,262 mm	563 mm	422 mm
50 m (164 ft)	1,408 mm	2,103 mm	939 mm	704 mm

When to find it#

Share of iNaturalist observations by month across North America. Peak months: May, June, July and August.

About the Cliff Chipmunk#

The cliff chipmunk (Tamias dorsalis) is a small, bushy-tailed squirrel that typically lives along cliff walls or boulder fields bordering Pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Western United States and Mexico (commonly spotted in northern Arizona to Colorado). Cliff chipmunks are very agile, and can often be seen scaling steep cliff walls. Cliff chipmunks do not amass body fat as the more common ground squirrel does.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia via iNaturalist (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Field-craft tips#

Great subjects for learning — confiding in parks.
Get your lens at the animal's eye level.
Get down to eye level; a long lens with close focus (or an extension tube) helps with small subjects.
Sightings peak in May, June, July and August, which is when you'll have the most chances.

Ethics#

The welfare of the animal comes first: if it changes its behaviour because of you, you are too close.
Stay on trails, respect closures around nests, leks, dens and haul-outs.
Avoid playback and baiting in sensitive seasons; never bait predators.
Don't share precise locations of rare, nesting or roosting animals publicly.