Chipmunk in Bird Feeder Cage

Today when I opened the door to the dog pen and the dogs ran into it, I saw a chipmunk sitting in the little wire cage that holds the block of birdcake.  He was sitting very still, looking at us.  Neither of the dogs saw him.  I talked to him quietly, telling him to just be still and not move and he'd be OK.  I knew he could probably make a dash for it successfully but it was raining and if he slipped and fell, well, sometimes dogs can be really fast at grabbing a little running critter.

Neither of the dogs saw the chipmunk and they came back inside and the chipmunk stayed right where it was.  I went then to get my camera and I expected that the chipmunk would be gone when I went back outside, or it would flee as soon as I opened the door to the pen.  It was still there!

I took pictures of it from the doorway, and then kept walking closer taking more pictures.  It never moved.  I got a really good close up of him in that cage and I've posted it on my Flickr page. 

I began to wonder if he was sick, since he didn't move for so long.  I went back into the house and much later, looked for him again and he was gone, and there was considerably less seed in the birdfeeder.  I think maybe he didn't want to leave before he'd packed his cheeks with as much food as he could carry.  I hope he's OK.

Posted by: NJ on 10/24/2005 8:41:51 PM , 3 comments