Cheeky Lttle Fellows

I have never been certain about what species of chipmunk lived in my backyard. Consulting field guides left me confused. There were just too many species and to my untrained eye they they all looked alike. So earlier this week I dug in and did some research. I found out that there are thirteen species of chipmunk in California. The best way to tell them apart is by size,field markings, call and most important of all region. Armed with this knowledge I narrowed it down to two species. Then after consulting the map numerous times and listening to their call I determined that the chipmunk in my area is the Yellow Cheeked Chipmunk. Locally they are often called the Redwood Chipmunks. Yellow Cheeked Chipmunks are endemic to a narrow band of the North Coast. The band is about 25 miles wide from the ocean inland. The band runs from about a mile north of Bodega Bay and Freestone in Sonoma County north to the Eel River in Humboldt County. Within this area it can be found in the humid coastal strip of coniferous forests. I dug out one of my knothole feeders and set it up in the backyard to photograph them. Mystery of the cheeky little guys solved. Have a wonderful day, chris All images were created with my Canon 7D mkII and a Canon 100-400 IS v. 1 lens #TeamCanon