As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, my Audubon Wingscapes feeder cam doesn’t really focus closely. It claims the range is 18-23″, but to get a crisp photo, you really need to be at the far edge of that range. Alas, the mounting arm I bought specifically for this camera is pretty short. I decided to mount my feeder so that it wouldn’t blow in the wind so much, and as a result, the camera arm was too short to allow the camera to focus. The distance from the camera to the side of the hopper was only 17″! I finagled it a little to try to get it farther away, but composition suffered. As “diagonally” as I could angle the camera from the point I wanted to focus on, I still couldn’t get it quite right. So, I forewent my hard work of setting all this up and went back to my original scheme: on the ground.
Nothing amazing so far, but much nicer pics already! Even in decent light, it seems to be capturing closer photos, too. Bonus: it’s closer to the router so the auto upload seems to be working. Unfortunately, the online upload doesn’t work anymore, so I have to have my laptop on to get the photos. Yet, it’s better than manually taking out the SD card!
Now, a little about the eastern chipmunk that already seems to love this new setup: it’s widely known that they store seed in their buccal pouches, as pictured. I have black oil sunflower seed scattered on the ground, and this guy will take as much as he can fit in his cheeks! He has so far been the most frequent visitor to the seed pile, and I’d be surprised if that didn’t continue so long as he lives around the house. The chipmunk tail is described as “moderately furred” and somewhat flattened. What surprised me, though, was the rusty color under the tail I captured in this photo.
It appears to be predator defense, as they flick the tail upward when they run. After searching, I discovered that they do this to increase the chances that an attacking predator would bite the tail instead of the body, to minimize damage. Maybe the brighter color under the tail aids in the distraction! Also, I’m pretty sure it’s a male…
Apparently the darker the fur on the scrotal sac, the more mature the chipmunk!