A cute little chipmunk stopped by for a bite from the suet feeder. These little guys can be quite entertaining. They seem to do everything on fast forward.
He’s having a bit of a time getting around the wire cage, but he does some awesome acrobatics to get at the good stuff.
He is a bit nervous, but he’s just tiny so you can’t really blame him. And let’s face it, those grackles can be a real pain.
A chipmunk can have a lifespan of around 2 – 5 years. It all depends on food supply and predators. Like most small rodents they have a lot of enemies just waiting to make them into a snack. Before you feel too sorry for them though, they are predators too.
They mostly go after seeds and nuts of all kinds, and different plants, which is pretty much the way we think of them, as vegetarians. But they also like bird’s eggs and a variety of other stuff. They’ll eat worms and small frogs too. We don’t think of them as active predators, they’re just too cute with those chubby cheeks, but like any wild animal they have a dark side. It’s mostly a matter of what is available to them, and they will definitely take whatever they can.
We don’t usually like them in our bird feeders. The bad news is, they will eat just about any bird seed you put out. And they’ll hit your suet feeders too. They like to store seeds, so they can actually empty a bird feeder in no time at all. They fill up their cheeks, run to their dens and come back for more. If they aren’t disturbed they’ll keep at it until the feeder is empty.
There all a lot of different things that folks have tried to keep these guys out of feeders. While I don’t think anything is 100% chipmunk proof, squirrel baffles get my vote. You have to set them up right if they’re going to work and monitor them from time to time to make sure they’re still in place and working.
A great alternative, if you want to enjoy these little guys, is set up your baffles on your bird feeders and put up separate feeders for the chipmunks. You’re pretty certain to get squirrels too. You can put cheaper seeds and nuts, even dried corn for these guys to munch on and enjoy their antics. This way your birds are happy and you’re not missing out on all that chipmunk fun.