No chipmunks?! How can that be? They're everywhere.Almost two years ago we lost our apex predator, our cat of 20 years. Still hurts. He wasn't a family pet. He was family.
As he slowed down over those last years, the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks began to make hay. Now they freely multiply and wreak havoc.
Cause and effect: Two red-tailed hawks now visit quite frequently, go talon-to-talon when they happen to be here at the same time. Put on a terrific show. Have a great shot of Larry (Bird -- the other one is Atlanta -- as in Hawks) swooping in and snatching a baby bunny. Shot video of Larry de-furring the poor little bastard and begin to pull at its flesh while it was still alive. The quality of mercy is not strained.
But between them, Larry and Atlanta do a small fraction of the population management work our George used to do.