Meet Chippy’s Friends

Folks say you can’t tell us chipmunks apart. I beg to differ.

Just like human beings, we chipmunks sometimes have some interesting birthmarks. The easiest one to find around the Woodpile is “Spot”. She has been living at the Woodpile for two years and is the unofficial matriarch (a fancy word for queen) of the Woodpile. She is very friendly and comes out to greet everyone. However, don’t try to muscle your way into her turf or try to sneak in and grab her pile of sunflower seeds. If you ignore my advice, you will find out why her nickname is “Hell on Four Paws.” If you ever watch any of those westerns, then you understand what I mean when I say she runs the bad guys out of town (or in this case the Woodpile).

 This is Scarface. He likes to project the “tough guy” image. He has a bad habit of getting into paw fights with the neighbors. Chipmunks have sharp claws just like cats. We use them to climb bushes and trees (or the occasional bird feeder post). As you can see, they leave some nasty marks.

Stripes has another one those birthmarks I mentioned. Normally, chipmunks have black and whites stripes on their backs. Stripes has an extra “stripe”. He has a brown streak that goes from the top of his head to his shoulders. Stripes is very industrious and spends his time gathering sunflower seeds and avoiding fights (no scars!).

Unfortunately, no one seems to remember what his name was before he lost half his tail. We just call him “Shorty” now. There must be an interesting tale behind the loss of his tail. We tried getting him drunk in hopes of hearing what happened but he can really hold his liquor. Okay, we passed out before he did.

“Little Guy” makes up for his small size with the cute factor. The lady’s just adore him.

Just Passing Through the Neighborhood

We occasionally get the odd visitor or two just passing by the Wood pile. Just this morning, this big fellow stopped by to munch on a pile of crack corn. I almost tipped over backwards, trying to look up at him. I decided to say hello. Turns out he lives across the pond. I asked how he got to this side of the pond. He told me flew! I found it hard to believe such a big bird could fly so far. When he was done with his feast, he bid farewell, and gracefully took off and flew back across the pond. Wow, I was impressed.

Early this week, we had a very curious visitor. Let me describe her. She walks on four legs, and her fur is made up of thousands are very sharp barbs. I don’t recommend trying to pat her. I offered her some corn and sunflowers but she said no thank you. She asked if we had any fresh bark to chew on. Who eats bark? Since there was nothing to eat, she sauntered on her way. I had never seen such a critter before and had to ask mom what species she was. She is called a porcupine.

Swinging in the Park

Mom set up a tire swing for us at the wood pile. Word got around quickly. Bushy, myself (Chippy), and our feathered friends gathered around the swing. No one was quite sure how a “swing” was suppose to work. Mom explained you were suppose to hop on it to ride as it swung back and forth on the rope. Apparently this is a favorite past time of human children. I volunteered to be the first critter to try it out. How hard could it be?

 Mom lowered the swing so it was at chipmunk height. Before I hopped on, I thought I would give my best imitation of the Gecko from the TV commercial with the flat tire.

 Yikes, this swings really fast! Here is a photo of me holding on for dear life.

Bushy was the next one to hop on. He thought it was a lot of fun to fly back forth and forth through the air.

Mr. Redwing decided to do a safety inspection before trying the swing out.

Mrs. Titmouse got right into the swing of it.

Mrs. Blue Jay called out to all her friends to come and try it.

 

The Mighty Duck Gang

Bushy, myself [Chippy], and our regular feathered friends were enjoying a nice warm day at the woodpile munching on corn and sunflower seeds. We heard a loud rush of flapping wings and the sun was momentarily blocked out. Everyone scattered for cover. We were being invaded! An unruly group of waterfowl known as the "mighty duck gang" descended on the woodpile. They pushed and shoved, squawked and nipped at each other, and they ate all the food. How rude.

Mom says they were mostly mallards, a couple of mallard / black duck hybrids, and a Gadwall in the mix. "Puddle Ducks" with no manners. What is the woodpile coming to?

Some of the members of the Mighty Duck Gang

A male Gawdwall