Autumn seeds and fruit

The days are shorter, nights cooler and the chipmunks and squirrels are working non-stop at stocking up their winter caches of food. I’ve been watching a red squirrel zipping up a Black Walnut tree, loosening the nuts, letting them fall to the ground then moving on to the next branch.





After a few minutes he scurries back down and collects the fallen nuts making several trips to his caches. The food has to last till next spring when new foods become available, since red squirrels do not hibernate and need something to eat during those cold snowy months.

There can be several of these caches in a squirrel’s territory, some underground or in tree hollows or in this case a conveniently located tractor shed with a nice gap below the door.






Yep, the shed is right next to the walnut tree, and it is now full of nuts! The squirrel has also dug an exit hole out the back in the dirt floor, in case a quick escape is needed. Since we store the tractor there in the summer only, this is a great place for the cache, away from snow and predators, this is a smart squirrel! I love hearing his chatter and watching his acrobatics in the trees, how can I resist his cuteness!

The chipmunks on the other hand will stay underground all winter and need to store foods in their burrows, which can be quite extensive.

Our whole yard is riddled with these (free lawn aeration!) and we have chipmunks popping up everywhere, chasing each other and scolding from atop all manner of perches. They also love to groom while on these perches, a most adorable creature.

These days, they are busy collecting maple keys which are plentiful, there is no end to the trips they take up the trees, returning with cheeks so stuffed they can hardly run. Of course they also spend a lot of time under the bird feeders, cleaning up the seeds fallen from above.

More plentiful than anything else are the wild grapes. This must be a bounty year for this plant! The vines, draped over fences and trees, are bearing large clusters of blue grapes that are the size of blueberries. Many animals eat these including several species of birds. The grapes will help sustain winter wildlife.



Wild grapes

 Flocks of migrating sparrows and winter seed-eating birds appreciate and depend on the seeds of native grasses. A few years ago I planted 2 native grass species, Little Blue Stem and Big Blue Stem, and 1 non-native ornamental (name escapes me).

 

Big Blue Stem

  
   



Little Blue Stem





Little Blue Stem seedheads



It’s telling that the Juncos and Sparrows eat the seeds of the native grasses but have never touched the seeds of the ornamental non-native grass. If you are planting grasses, chose the native ones if possible, they may not be as showy as some imports but more importantly they will provide winter food for wildlife. They also are adapted to our climate and thrive with little care. The prairie species that I planted are especially well adapted to the dry sandy moraine soil in our yard. An amazing two-thirds of the plant is actually underground, unseen, its long roots extending deep into the soil to find moisture. I never have to water these beautiful plants.

There are plenty of other wild foods such as birch seeds, acorns, berries, cones. All are important for the winter survival of many species.



When possible chose native trees and shrubs that bear fruit or seeds edible by wildlife when doing plantings. These are hardier and easier to care for. You might also get the pleasure of observing wild birds or other species from the comfort of your home, feasting on the bounty in your yard.

Louise





















Signs of spring

Today a tiny head poked up above the snow, the first chipmunk of the year! A sure sign that spring is on its way. Soon the Red-winged blackbirds will arrive with their raucous song, the males arriving first, flashing their red epaulets at other males, making their territorial claims.

The chipmunk purveyed the area, keeping an eye out for predators. He appeared very reluctant to leave the safety of the burrow. He first ventured up a nearby tree, then after an hour he scooted across the snowy yard to an abandoned groundhog burrow under a rock.

From there he watched the activity at the bird feeder, then maybe deciding it was still too cold, he retreated back to the comfort of his winter den. Even the peanuts I scattered on the ground could not entice him to come under the feeders. When you’re at the bottom of the food chain, you’re very cautious.

Several Dark-eyed juncos, another visitor from the northern woods, have spent the winter feeding in our yard and this morning I heard their trilling song, another sign of spring.

Dark-eyed Juncos

The Blue Jays have also started what is called “courtship feeding” where the male will bring food to a potential mate and delicately place it in her beak. It is so endearing to watch a pair sitting on a branch with the female coyly waiting for the offering. It’s comical to see how helpless the female can make herself appear.



Sumac

 

There is still plenty of winter food around the yard and species such as the Common Crows and Enropean Starlings have been eating this bounty in order to survive.

rosehips

High-bush cranberries

Soon vernal pools will appear when the snow melts. These are the ephemeral pools of water that dry up by summer but where many of our insects and amphibians start their lives. More on this later.

The snow has been slowly melting, warmer days and cool nights will soon have the maple sap running. My mouth is watering thinking about this truly Canadian sugary treat.  Nothing beats the taste of precious maple syrup on freshly made crepes. Mmmm…bring on spring!

Louise

What's in a name?

You might wonder why I chose chipmunkheaven as my blog title. I was inspired by the Eastern Chipmunk, they are so darn cute, and who can resist that little impish face.

There are plenty of chipmunks living on our property. The soil is sandy, so it’s easy to dig a burrow and there is plenty to eat: maple keys, seeds, acorns, wild grape,  blackberries, cranberries,  crabapples, mushrooms, slugs, insects….and of course peanuts in the shell … so it really is heaven for these feisty little guys. They are very busy gathering food all the time, so you get to see them a lot.  I name them,  “Split Ear”, “No Tail” “Broken Tail” based on their appearance.  Split Ear lived for 3yrs, others are not so lucky.



Chipmunks have personality and spunk, but mostly I love them because they evoke childhood memories of a simpler time growing up in northern Ontario. A time when a cottage was a cabin in the woods and not a mansion on acres of lawn. A time when a bathroom meant an outhouse, a pump bringing water from the lake was a luxury and a woodstove is what you cooked on and heated your water. (OK now you know I’m past a certain age) You could drink the lake water and enjoy complete silence with no whine of “personal water craft”. Entertainment was watching a family of beavers in action, playing cards by candlelight, swimming and the best was letting chipmunks run up your legs to get peanuts out of your pockets. My earliest memories of nature are the crayfish, tadpoles and minnows in a shallow rocky cove; the salamanders and mushrooms in the dark mossy forest floor; watching the early morning mist rising on the lake, the old rowboat, hearing the mournful call of the loons and the howls of wolves.  I don’t recall missing the flush toilet or hot shower from our house in town. What memories will today’s children have of their youth… their first cell phone? video game? lipgloss? designer togs? hanging out at the mall? sad to think…

Many think of chipmunks as pesky rodents, but chipmunks in fact do a lot of good. They excavate burrows with storage chambers where they keep the food they collect for winter use. They are constantly burying nuts and seeds and often these will germinate and grow; think of an acorn becoming the mighty oak tree. They are also a prime food source for others species such as foxes, coyotes, hawks and owls.



This year another favorite mammal has taken up residence and after a few skirmishes, now lives in relative peace with the chipmunks. It’s of course the Red Squirrel, a playful agile little fellow whose chattering calls also take me right back to the boreal forests of the north. I watched a pair carrying nuts from our Black Walnut Tree, the nuts almost bigger than their heads. I found the remnant outer layers of several nuts in a mound. I wouldn’t want to be bitten by a squirrel; they must have very strong teeth to eat through the hard inner shell of a black walnut. We had to use a vise to get ours open.

Black Walnut outer layer

 



Inside the thick walnut shell

They’ve made a home in an abandoned owl nest box, easier than finding a tree cavity.

 

While their cousins the chipmunks hibernate, the squirrels are active all winter except on the coldest days. They seem to enjoy scattering the mourning doves under the bird feeders, quickly stuffing their cheeks with fallen sunflower seeds and scooting back to their home.

They too play an important role in scattering and germinating seeds, especially cone seeds and they serve as a food source for larger species.

So what’s in a name? A lot.

Louise