Day 199: Neotamias townsendii contributes a whole new layer of meaning to the word "cheeky." This Townsend's Chipmunk has so far eluded my best efforts to trap him for transport over the river and through the woods to a location far enough away that I know he won't be able to find his way back to my bird feeders. I fight this war every year. My record to date was 18 Douglas Squirrels, half a dozen Townsend's, three or four rats with a Bushy-Tailed Wood Rat thrown in for good measure. The squirrels haven't been too bad the last several years, but that's given Townsend the opportunity to proliferate. And they're cagier than the squirrels, canny about the traps and harder to bait. I can't remember what I discovered they liked best, but although he's chowing down on sunflower seeds in the feeder, he isn't enticed by the ones in the Hav-a-Hart live trap. Peanuts don't work. Nor do granola bars. Ritz crackers? Nope. I wish I'd kept notes.
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