Townsend's Troublemaker

Day 315: Over the last two or three years, I have been steadily relocating Douglas squirrels to suitable habitats at least two miles and one river crossing from my home. While I seem to have won the Squirrel War, I failed to take into account the fact that I was opening up the area to another pesky little rodent, Townsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii). These cute little troublemakers aren't destructive like squirrels. They don't get into your attic to gnaw your electric wiring; they live in burrows rather than taking over bird nests and woodpecker holes. Their diet consists of seeds, fruit and fungi rather than the nuts and bird's eggs preferred by squirrels, but they do have a penchant for emptying my bird feeders of black-oil seed, and that, my budget will not abide. I knew I had two and managed to live-trap one in short order using date bits as bait. The second one proved more difficult, and my raspberries were disappearing before they could ripen completely. Eventually, the stripy little critter couldn't resist sampling dried plums, and was rewarded with a trip to a nearby trail system. Within half an hour of having reset the trap ("just in case"), I stood at my window muttering, "It's like trying to dip the ocean dry with a teaspoon!" as a third Townsend's Troublemaker scrabbled up the metal bird-feeder pole after the fresh supply of seed. Mango...I wonder if that's what he's waiting for?

Prisoner No. 2

Day 288: For the record, I am learning first-hand what happens when you remove competing species from an area. Last year, I live-trapped one Townsend's Chipmunk, two Bushy-Tailed Wood Rats and FIFTEEN Douglas Squirrels. All but the Wood Rats were relocated to a location across the river and miles from here. Squirrels are notoriously destructive, even to the point of causing house fires by gnawing on the insulation surrounding electrical wiring. That said, chipmunks are kinda cute, but when one of them kept me awake a few nights ago banging around inside the bedroom wall, I decided I'd had enough. The following morning, I set out the Hav-a-Hart trap baited with peanut butter on taco chips. The offering was rejected. I changed strategy and laid out sunflower seeds. Chip thought the ones in the bird feeder were better, but after eating his fill, he climbed down and went in pursuit of a dessert of blueberries. I took the hint and baited the trap with dried cranberries. Half an hour later, I was driving Chip to Mineral and, satisfied that I'd solved my rodent problem. I put the trap away in the garage. The next morning, I had a second chipmunk in the bird feeder. Within an hour or so after baiting the trap with golden raisins, I was making another trip to Mineral with Prisoner No. 2. I was not as confident as I had been after relocating two chips, so I set the trap out again. Bingo! Half an hour later, I was again en route to Mineral, feeling a little like I'd been hired to drive the squirrel-bus. I was three Chips down, but the story hasn't reached its conclusion yet. There's still another one out there, and the little stinker doesn't seem to be impressed with raisins.