Eastern Chipmunk

Description:

The Eastern Chipmunk is a small rodent in the Sciuridae (squirrel) family. It's topside has reddish brown fur with distinctive stripes of dark brown and white; it's underside is a lighter brown.

Habitat:

Deciduous wooded areas; In our yards they favor area with cover (overgrown spots, shrubs, leaf litter, fallen logs, etc). I can usually count on finding a burrow entrance whenever I start cleaning an area up.

Notes:

Every time I have seen a chipmunk it has been alone rather than in the company of others and it always appears to be foraging. They follow (roughly) the same routine each day (following the same path around the property at the same times of day), varying only slightly each day so in the summer months the foraging routine has shifted from the one they started in spring. There is always a burrow entrance nearby, usually hidden by leaf debris or weeds. Their zippy, spiraling movements often convey a rather charming sense of play.