Townsend Two-fer

Day 300: It goes without saying that I'm probably trying to dip the ocean dry with a teaspoon, but for the past four or five years, I have been steadily relocating squirrels and chipmunks from my yard to habitats where they can't get in nearly as much trouble. That said, I have never caught a "two-fer" before. I don't know who was more surprised, me or my two Townsend captives. They were transported several miles up the road, released into a welcoming forest and when I got home, I had no sooner reset the trap than another one of the cheeky little buggers showed up under the bird feeder. Sigh. You just can't win.

Ocean, Meet Teaspoon

Day 88: It begins: the 2020 version of dipping the ocean dry with a teaspoon. My first Douglas squirrel of the year showed up on New Year's Day, or at least that was what I thought I had seen with the tail of my eye, dashing for cover under the hellebore. I wasn't certain until day before yesterday when I inadvertently surprised one in the bird feeder. It leapt out, narrowly missing my face in its haste. I went immediately to the garage for the Hav-a-Hart live trap, and then remembered that a friend had sent me a smaller double-door version which she'd never used. I didn't really realize how much smaller it was until I set them up side by side. Doogie didn't show himself until some time in the night or early this morning when his plans for feeder domination were foiled by the Squirrel Trapper Pursuivant. Prisoner No. 1 is slated for transport to Mineral later this afternoon.

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.