It took awhile for me to identify the source of my morning alarm clock. Our bird feeder is attracting new birds this sun-filled summer. I’d thought it to be some fair feathered friend cracking open sunflower seeds at dawn. Yup, I blamed the junco who feels free to wander across the deck whether we’re sitting there or not, the one who I swear would perch on Rupert’s back if he’d stay still long enough.
Then one morning when the song seemed particularly loud, long and darn joyful – though much earlier than I welcomed – I crept from the bed to peek out to see which bird was singing such a pretty song. Atop our mailbox, standing on his or her tiny hind legs stood one of the three or four chipmunks who scoot across our deck every day. This chipmunk was just a singing away!
One of my wildlife books claimed such chirping meant a chipmunk was sending out a distress call. I beg to differ. The chipmunk I spotted, and have heard several mornings since then, curtained did NOT seem to be in a protective mode. And there was definitely no danger. These critters love to toy with Rupert, often stopping on their trot across the deck to look through our sliding glass doors at the dog before they stop to sip out of his outside water bowl, never caring if he then barks at them while they leisurely get their fill of water. No, I believe they chirp with pure joy.
I just wish they would do it a little later in the morning.
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