Normally if chipmunks are seen together they are chasing each other, but this morning 4 chipmunks were gathered in front of the yard pond with noses to the ground. They moved around as if searching for something. This went on for about 10 minutes. They didn't stay in one spot but moved around on the rocks to the end of the pond then about halfway around the back. They would sometimes encounter each other in their movements where they would touch noses then continue with noses to the ground. Finally one perched on top of a post at the back of the pond, but the other three continued. They quit for a few minutes then began again. I don't know if this is some sort of spring mating ritual or something else is the cause. I have never seen it before. Later in the day I saw a chipmunk sitting in the grass and something black was moving near it. When I got a better look I saw that the chipmunk had a butterfly pinned to the ground and one wing of the butterfly was flopping back and forth. The chipmunk then proceded to eat the butterfly, something else I had never seen before. I know chipmunks will eat bird eggs so I suppose it follows that they sometimes eat insects too. On another note I saw the first Yellow-throated Vireo of the season in the yard today. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt
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