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Tue, May 1, 12 at 15:16
| I posted earlier that cardinals nested in fake ficus trees on our front porch, very near our front door. The eggs hatched about 11 days ago, and the past few days a chipmunk has been lurking near. Today, both male and female parents were in the nest and I heard their alarm...then a lot of noise. I looked out and saw the darn chipmunk climbing a fake ficus tree. I did step outside and the chipmunk took off. We had our share of chipmunk problems at our previous location, and they might look cute, but they are very damaging and have tunnels up to 20 feet across. However, my main concern is now keeping the darn thing OFF of our porch (and away from the nest...I do think the parents did a remarkable job)...but I don't want a chipmunk in my house (again)! My German Shepherd Dog's prey drive kicks in, but it's in our front yard. The cardinals are not afraid of my dog. But I doubt that a permanent solution. I am now considering smearing the stems of the faux ficus trees with "unpetroleum jelly" to keep it from trying to get to the nest again. The nestlings have their feathers, eyes open, and I think they'll be ready to fly soon. These nestlings survived below freezing temps last week and earlier this week. To have them devoured by a rogue chipmunk would be devastating...when I know there are other manners of keeping them away....but away from a cardinal's nest...that's another story. Any ideas? Thank you. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I don't know what your fake ficus tree looks like, but is there any chance you could fasten a piece of stovepipe around it? I use stovepipe guards on all my bird house poles and feeder pole and it does keep them out. It sure would be a shame to have a chipmunk destroy them. I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully others will chime in with other ideas. |
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| Chipmunks and Squirrels are avid predators of bird eggs and nestlings. I'm not sure if the chipmunk can take a nestling of that size? I had Robins nesting right outside my kitchen window last year, and watched them progress while doing the dishes in the morning, and they were pretty big at that stage. I have a cat who catches most of the chipmunks. She doesn't get all of them, but she keeps their population largely under control. In your case I would NOT TOUCH the Ficas tree at all - you will disturb the nestlings and possibly stimulate their instinct to abandon the nest. You could try a trap for the chipmunks? |
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