Least Chipmunk Eating A Serviceberry

Least Chipmunk eating a serviceberry – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Chipmunks amuse and delight me and I truly enjoy having them in my viewfinder when there aren’t any birds nearby. Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing birds I had a Least Chipmunk pop into my view while it ate a serviceberry. The chipmunk was near enough to me that I couldn’t fit its whole body into the frame so I decided that I would take close up photos of it.

I was a little surprised to see the chipmunk eating the serviceberries because the berries are only about halfway through the growing season and are nowhere near ripe. In the future I’ll know that the chippies don’t seem to mind the unripened fruit of these shrubs. This chipmunk chowed down on them!

Serviceberries midway through the growing season – Nikon D500, f18, 1/125, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I have been keeping an eye on the fruiting shrubs and trees in the high country because we did have a late cold snap while the serviceberries, chokecherries, and hawthorns were in bloom and I wondered if that was going to adversely affect fruit production like it did last year but most of those shrubs and trees are producing copious amounts of berries and cherries now.

Two days before I photographed the Least Chipmunk I took images of the same serviceberry because I realized I didn’t have any photos of these fruiting shrubs that were midway through the growing season in my portfolio. In just a matter of weeks the serviceberries will start ripening and then I’ll be sitting at the shrubs waiting for the birds to come in. The berries will turn red then dark blue and then a deep purple as they ripen and get juicier.

At least 40 species of birds eat the native serviceberries. I’ve photographed Yellow Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, American Robins, Gray Catbirds, Lazuli Buntings, Western Tanagers, Spotted Towhees, Mountain Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and other birds eating the ripe serviceberries along with a rare to our area Baltimore Oriole. I know that an abundance of ripe serviceberries can provide me with hours of great opportunities with the birds that feast on them if I am patient and keep my eyes on the shrubs. The same goes for the mammals that feed on them too.

I only hope that we don’t go into a complete lockdown because of the steep rise of Coronavirus cases here in northern Utah because I would absolutely hate to miss out on all the fun the ripened berries provide me as a bird photographer.

Life is good. Stay safe.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Least Chipmunk photos plus facts and information about this species.