Chipmunks are definitely cute unless you are a bird. Invading chipmunks are disappearing with all the sunflower seeds put out for the birds.
At first a single chipmunk kept scouring the ground under the feeder for fallen sunflower seeds. Birds are messy eaters so some land on the ground. And the empty shells along with a few others get dumped there at night.
Chipmunks rarely survive long in the backyard. They seem to defy the cats and end up dinner.

This year brought a lot of chipmunks into the yard. A few have become cat and fox dinners. More move in.
The feeder also proved to be a challenge. The posts are easy to climb. I watched a chipmunk climb up and run into the rim of the feeder floor. It fell back defeated.
Sunflower seeds are a powerful motivator for a chipmunk. That chipmunk tried again and again until it could grab the edge and pull itself up onto the ledge.

Word got around.
This morning I watched two chipmunks at work. One would race over to the clump of grass under the feeder. The cats were sleeping in the house and the foxes were snoozing up on the hill.
The chipmunk raced up the post, onto the ledge and into the feeder. A blue jay left in disgust. A titmouse swooped in to snatch a seed and depart. Invading chipmunks clear out the bully birds.

A short time later the chipmunk reappeared with bulging cheek pouches. It got back on the ledge and slid down the post carrying its bounty away.
The second chipmunk arrived and invaded the feeder. It was sliding down as the first one came over. Both wanted to be sole feeder invader.
Sunflower seeds are a powerful motivator for a chipmunk. These invading chipmunks fell into an alternating rhythm until the feeder tray was empty.
Observing wildlife and Ozark hills has been a pastime for many years. Read more in “My Ozark Home“.