Good Summer Evening Fun

We shoot all squirrels because they have destroyed buildings and steal all the bird's seed. One year a red squirrel not only ate a hole through a shed wall, he also chewed a hole through an insulated cooler where we stored seed. They are the only way I keep in practice with a shotgun.

Chipmunks, on the other hand, aren't destructive. They are typically ground feeders and although they might have an entrance hole into their labyrinth of tunnels on the lawn, they are entirely entertaining to watch. We began watching "chippy" when he would posture with the ground-feeding birds beneath the single birdfeeder I offer in the summertime. I was quite surprised to see mourning doves give Chippy a wide berth, and even Blue Jays would seem to be intimidated by him.

We sit on our back deck and watch the antics. There are actually two chipmunks but they are rarely seen getting along. There's usually a chase going on when we see both at the same time.

We hadn't named the second chipmunk, since they both look just the same to us, but our granddaughter, Olivia, insisted that it should have a name: Rosalita. So, Rosalita it is. Our grandchildren all love to watch for the chipmunks and ask for seeds to put by the hole. They thought it was so funny how they would stuff their cheeks so full of seeds and then dive for the hole, returning a very short time later with empty cheeks and looking for more seeds.

I walked over to the fence yesterday, since I could see Chippy was sitting on his haunches on his favorite stump. I can usually get quite close and talk to him, and I was taking him a few almonds. At first glance I thought he was grooming his tail, but quickly realized he was eating a huge grub! It must have been almost two inches long and it was still alive. Chippy would eat at one end for awhile and then at its hundreds of legs. I called my husband who was in as much shock as I was at seeing Chippy eating meat. He was really enjoying it too. Ugh. I looked online for some information on chipmunks and learned that they indeed eat slugs, snails, grubs, snakes and small birds. No wonder the birds gave him plenty of space when they were on the ground together. A few hours later I went to take some nuts out to him and sitting just outside the hole was a half-eaten goldfinch!

I'm not so enamored with chipmunks anymore. If they want to eat snakes and slugs, good for them and good for my flowerbeds, but birds? I love watching the birds and feed them year-round; I never suspected they were prey for chipmunks. I know chipmunks have to eat too and store food for the winter (they semi-hibernate), but birds?

Pretty interesting creatures, they are, but they're eating my birds! I have a problem with that, but does it bother me enough that I stop feeding birds or add chipmunks to my "okay-to-shoot" list?