Eastern Chipmunk Tamias strictus

The scientific name, Tamias, means ‘steward’ in Latin.

I like this connection to the busy chipmunk who picks up after the messy birds and gleans the leavings of the other critters. Frequently, the chipmunks will come in early morning and clean the mess that was left on the deck from the birds feeding the day before. As you may have guessed the name “chipmunk” refers to the chipping “chip-chip” sound they make.

These bright-eyed little guys are a delight to watch – scurrying around the deck, diving in and out of rock piles where they have built passages. They are out on any day that has the slightest hint of spring warmth. Even when there is snow on the ground they will brave the cold if the sun is shinning. Two white stripes bordered by black run down each side of a central gray stripe decorating the middle of his reddish-brown fur coat.
Most of the eastern chipmunk's diet is made up of nuts, acorns, seeds, mushrooms, fruits, berries and corn. It also eats insects, bird eggs, snails and small mammals like young mice. The eastern chipmunk doesn't truly hibernate, but it does spend a lot of time sleeping. It may wake up every few weeks to eat the food it has stored. The books say that in winter, it stays in its den, however some of the chipmunks who live here, haven’t read the book. On every sunny day they are out gathering seeds left on plant stalks or filling their pouches till it looks like they must burst if they put in one more sunflower seed. The females give birth in spring or midsummer, producing litters of two to eight young. Like other members of the squirrel family, chipmunks are naked, blind, and helpless at birth.

When walking around the property we usually have one or two chipmunks eyeing us from under a rock pile or on occasion one will hide in a drainpipe. Chipmunks are ground-dwelling squirrels. They spend most of their lives at or below the surface, although they will also climb trees. Their extensive burrows are up to 12 feet long and may include a storage chamber, sleeping room, dump, and latrine, along with several concealed entrances. The pantry holds up to half a bushel of nuts and other food, all carried there in the chipmunk's outsized cheek pouches.

The Chipmunk
Ogden Nash
My friends all know that I am shy,
But the chipmunk is twice as shy as I.
He moves with flickering indecision
Like stripes across the television.
He's like the shadow of a cloud,
Or Emily Dickinson read aloud.