![]() ![]() Depending on your habitat, your results may vary… ![]() Given this distinction, I’d guess that the chipmunks in the arid pinyon/juniper habitat around our house are Colorados. Colorado chipmunks tend to move their tails from side to side when they are chattering or running least chipmunks hold their straight up in those situations. One characteristic suggested for differentiating these species is to watch an individual’s tail. In our area, Colorado and least chipmunks are the most likely species. Colorado hosts 5 species of chipmunk, all of which look pretty much alike as they scamper away from you. Aside from that distinction, chipmunks can be difficult to identify to specific species. The smallest of the squirrels, chipmunks can be differentiated most easily from other striped squirrels (e.g., the thirteen-lined ground squirrel or the golden-mantled ground squirrel) by their striped faces, since other squirrels have unstriped faces. Except for the time they chewed through the Internet satellite cable on the roof a few years later, we’ve had no major chipmunk issues since then. Zell then replaced the ridiculously flimsy plastic grill with a heavy-duty metal grill. (Very high-tech and cutting edge, I know.) It didn’t take long until several chipmunks emerged from the vent and scampered down the roof. I held burning paper towels up to the opening of the fan in the bathroom to smoke them out while Zell parked himself on the roof by the vent to see when they left. But they hadn’t, so we needed to evict them ASAP. Geez-you’d think with 100+ nest boxes on the property, they’d choose something less problematic. Given the size of the opening and the likely suspects in our area, we figured that chipmunks were likely trying to nest in the fan vent. On the roof, he found that the plastic grill that covered the vent opening had been chewed through. I hollered for Zell, who immediately suspected some critter had gotten into the fan vent. It is believed that the "chip" is made in response to danger on the ground while the "chuck" is in response to danger in the air, such as a raptor.įemale chipmunks are receptive to breeding only for about 6 and a half hours, so male chipmunks have to be on their toes to win a bride.Ĭhipmunks have 4 toes on their front paws and 5 toes on their back paws.Working in my office upstairs one morning, I heard scratching from the fan in the adjacent bathroom. Chipmunks make a lower-pitched "chuck" call and also a chip/whistle called a trill. This chip is so high-pitched it sounds like a birdcall, but it can be as regular as a metronome. If you have heard a high-pitched, regular, "chip chip chip" call in the woods, it is likely you are hearing an alarmed chipmunk. In Connecticut there can be a second breeding period and subsequent litters in the summer months. ![]() Most Eastern chipmunks mate in early spring, February to April, when they wake up from their winter napping. ![]() These little rodents can store large amounts of food, sometimes as much as half a bushel in a large burrow chamber. The pouches can expand to three times the size of their heads. A chipmunk under the birdfeeder often resembles a tiny, furry vacuum, stuffing in the fallen birdseed while its cheeks bulge ever-fatter. Chipmunks have copious cheek pouches which they use for carrying food to their food caches in their burrows. Their sheer cuteness often earns them forgiveness. They can cause garden damage by eating seedlings, bulbs or fruits, but are not usually major pests. Typical diet in the wild consists of tree nuts such as hickory nuts, beech nuts and acorns, seeds, some insects and some carrion. Sometimes on mild winter days a chipmunk may venture out briefly, but usually they stay snug in their den until spring. They'll wake every few weeks to eat from the stashed supply of food they diligently gathered in autumn. In the winter they are dormant and stay in their underground dens. Sometimes they dig where they damage garden plants, and they climb trees in search of food. Here in Connecticut they are often burrowing in our numerous rock walls. Chipmunks dig burrows underground, usually one chipmunk inhabits one burrow. They are active during the day in spring, summer and fall. They weigh 2 to 5 oz.Įastern chipmunks range through the northeastern quarter of the US with some incursions further south, and up into southeastern Canada. Their 3 to 4 inch tails tend to be flat and furry and will have black and brown fur frosted with some white. There are two, small black stripes above and below each eye on their little faces. They have reddish brown fur above with one black stripe along their back and a white stripe bracketed by two black stripes on each side. Eastern chipmunks are very common in Connecticut. ![]()
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