According to Jimmy the Groundhog, Wisconsin’s official weather forecasting rodent, spring will come early which is good news after this week’s arctic blast. But Jimmy probably doesn’t appreciate getting tossed out of bed to make his prediction at sunrise especially if he stayed up late partying on Friday night. He did bite the ear of the mayor in 2015 so he must have been crabbier that year.
Rodent Predicts Early Spring
The first sunny day in a while had the birds singing, which included some spring birds arrival like bluebirds and killdeers. So it was time to clean the bluebird houses yet and evict the squatters who moved in over winter. And I had to remove a lot of field mice, although the males must have ticked off the females as most houses only had one occupant and I only found one couple. But I did have to feel a little sorry for some of them as one had a ripped ear and this one was missing a front leg so didn’t scramble down the pole when I cleaned the house.
Three Legged Mouse
My yard might be full of chipmunks, but so far, I haven’t spotted any thirteen-lined ground squirrels. They seem to be more common in the southern part of the state than in my part. They rarely drink water, getting it from their food instead, which ranges from vegetative to animal matter like insects, mice, small birds and each other. They come out of their tunnels on warm, sunny day so unlikely they were out yesterday in the rain. The thirteen-lined ground squirrels do have 13 stripes – seven dark separated by six lighter stripes.
Mister Stripey
My little “friends” were racing through the woods and across my lawn on Sunday when it was a little warmer outside, but there was a trouble maker on my porch too. I imagine the little rodent was checking if I have put my garden and flower pots out so he could dig up my plants and seeds. Chipmunks hibernate throughout the winter and they might want to go back to sleep this week. During hibernation, every few days they get back up, eat from their hoard of food that they gathered in the fall. One tiny chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in one day and they do hoard more food than needed. A group of chipmunks is called a scurry and they better scurry if I catch them in my garden!
Chipmunk Awake from Winter Nap
I see a lot of tracks in the snow, but no signs of rodents like chipmunks or ground squirrels. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels begin hibernation in September or early October and emerge between late March and early May in the northern portions of their range. They only venture out of their burrows when the sun is high and the earth is warm so no peeking out in the sub-zero temperatures.
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels, as its name implies, has 13 stripes running the length of its body. They are omnivorous eating worms, insects, small birds, mice as well as seeds, roots, grains, vegetables and fruits. They store seeds and grass for late autumn and early spring when food is scarce.
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
The chipmunks have begun digging my flowers out (when the flowers aren’t in the garage to protect from freezing) and they don’t go very far when I go outside so they can resume they digging once I leave. And while chipmunks can climb trees, they construct extensive tunnel systems for their underground nests. To hide the construction of its burrow, the eastern chipmunk carries dirt to a different location in its cheek pouches and with the number of tunnel entrances on my lawn, they would have had to carry a lot dirt so I don’t know why they have to dig in my flower pots too.
A Waiting Chipmunk
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day then spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.
The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, or whistle-pig, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels. If any rodent ventured out on this cold morning, the groundhog, or even a ground squirrel like pictured, would have seen its shadow so a long winter ahead.
Rodent Saw Its Shadow
The sound of a low “chuck-chuck-chuck” or a higher pitched “chit-chit-chit-chit” gives away the presence of the “chipping squirrel”, better known as the chipmunk who are small members of the squirrel family. Their pudgy cheeks, large, glossy eyes, stripes, and bushy tails have made them a favorite among animators, and landed them a series of starring roles in Hollywood.
But they aren’t so ‘cute’ when they eat my garden seeds and dig up my plants. They eat seeds, fruits and nuts but they are also burying my sunflower seeds in my flower pots and now I have sprouting sunflowers. They also will eat insects, bird eggs, snails, and small snakes and I have seen one eating a worm.
Eastern Chipmunk
