Feathered Family

Day 62: I hope that you, dear readers, never tire of bird-in-the-hand, because I certainly won't. It has taken many years to come to this point, first to create enough enticing habitat in my yard to lure the Chickadees over from the brush line across the road, and second, to establish the degree of trust necessary to have them accept food from my hand. These days when I step off the back porch, it's not uncommon to have a Chestnut-backed Chickadee (left) skim my hair or land on my shoulder as I walk out to the feeders. The Black-capped Chickadees (right) are more wary and wait until I'm in position, standing as still as a statue with my pal outstretched. I can maintain the pose up to twenty minutes, as I often did when we were first becoming acquainted, but now neither species is particularly disturbed by slight motion. Talk about your "feathered friends" if you will. I have feathered family.

Spot The Differences

 

Day 32: We have another milestone! The birders among my readership will have a distinct advantage over the rest of you in this game of "Spot the Differences" when I say that two of these objects are not like the others. Yes, today I made inroads with the Black-capped Chickadees after a trip to the grocery store meant that second breakfast was late. They mobbed me when I got home, trying to get at the seed in the coffee can I was carrying, attaching themselves to the front of my shirt and my sleeves, dive-bombing my hair. It had been a cold night, and they were convinced they were starving. The bulk of the welcoming committee was of course Chestnut-backed, but I was pleasantly surprised when two Black-cappeds, one right after the other, also accepted food from my fingers despite the fact that I was holding the shiny silver scary thing in my other hand. Even so, I got the requisite documentation. Can you spot the Black-cappeds in the crowd?

Preferred Branch

Day 15: If they were writing Google reviews, the 'dee-dees, juncoes and Nut would tell you that this is their preferred branch. There's usually a line, occasionally some jostling when someone has lingered too long, and sometimes a particularly rude customer, brash and loud-spoken, shoves everyone out of the way in order to be served first, but outright tiffs are rare because there are no shortages here. Service is prompt, product quality is superior, and almost everyone can find something to their liking. Open hours are from dawn to dusk, and if you're a little birdie, you'll never fly away hungry.

We're Back

Day 32: In the Park, the return of the seasonals in the spring is marked by training sessions in each Division. Here at my house, the winter seasonals have arrived, and yes, training has begun. The returnees aren't quite settled and are still sorting out the procedures in case something has changed since last year, and the newbies are hesitant and reserved, worried about making a mistake. It's up to me, their supervisor, to assure that they have housing if needed and that they are outfitted with their essentials and, as their instructor, to put them at their ease in their new surroundings. At this point, we're laying the groundwork for what promises to be a happy relationship for the next several months.

Pair O' Dees

Day 64: They say you should be careful of what you wish for, but I have no regrets about having wished for chickadees in my yard even though it's made walking out to the feeders rather dangerous. I thought the hummers were bad, zooming around my head, threatening to poke me in the ear or in the eye, needling me with their little beakies in anticipation, but now I have to walk through a veritable cloud of chickadees, wings all a-flutter, chattering "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!" or "Tzick-a-dee-dee!" depending on species. Oh yes, I have two kinds, Black-capped (Poecile atricapillus, left) and Chestnut-backed (Poecile rufescens, right), and probably a few intergrades as well...dozens, DOZENS! of 'dee-dees in the contorted filbert and Japanese maple (not so much the dogwood...wonder why?). Given this auspicious turn of events after a thirty-year void, I suspect it won't be long before the Kinglets show up as well, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned groupies who follow the 'dee-dee concert everywhere.

Two Kinds Are Better Than One

Day 43: Two years ago, I was lamenting the perpetual lack of Chickadees of any sort in my yard. Oh, I saw them in the brush line just across the road, but they never came to my feeders. Then in January 2018, I spotted one in the contorted filbert, and it was soon followed by another. I kept my fingers crossed that they were a breeding pair, but with Chickadees, you can't tell. A third showed up somewhat later in the year. All three belonged to the same species: Black-Capped (Poecile atricapillus). They hung around throughout the year, apparently having deemed the habitat suitable for their needs. About two weeks ago, I was standing in my living room looking out the window and a 'dee-dee landed on the shepherd's hook closest to the glass. I did a classic double-take. "That's a chessie!" I said, and just that fast, Poecile rufescens (Chestnut-Backed) took off. Now it seems that consistent availability of choice food (black-oil sunflower seed) has made headlines in the Chickadee Times. I am suddenly besieged by 'dees! At times yesterday, there must have been at least a dozen darting between the feeders and the shrubbery. One chessie allowed me to get within inches of him when I filled the feeders. Species were split more or less equally, and although obviously I can't identify individual birds, I am simply overjoyed to have my very own flock of happy little 'dee-dees "dee-dee-dee-ing" when I step out onto the porch.

Black-Capped Elusive

Day 53: It's still not the "field guide" photo I'd like it to be, but yesterday I managed to capture this image of the Black-Capped Elusive who has been visiting my feeders for the last couple of days. I am so envious of people who have flocks of gregarious chickadees which seem to be more than willing to sit on their hands. Here, they are flighty and jumpy, and just as you locate one in your viewfinder (mind you, in a tree fifty yards away), by the time your finger has clicked the shutter, your target is gone. I've been trying to sneak a shot through my less-than-spotless living room window glass, but the little bugger takes off if I move the camera even slightly. This photo was taken from my back porch...well, more or less. I was hiding in the kitchen with nothing but the lens sticking out the door. That said, at least I have documentation of Poecile atricapillus in the contorted filbert.

I'm not sure what that means in the long term. Chickadees will not come where Pine Siskins are present, and I generally have Siskins at the feeder. The "dee-dees" live across the road in the brushy band of Ninebark, Chokecherry and Vine Maple behind my mailbox. If they've migrated to the yard, it may mean that the Siskins have moved out. There's no option which allows for both in the same territory.

The Photographer's Bane

Day 100: I have spent a large portion of my photographic energies on trying to capture a "field guide" shot of a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). I tease my east-coast friends about getting excited over Bald Eagles because here they are common, but those same east-coasters have Chickadees at their feeders daily, almost hand-tame, and I'd gladly trade half a dozen Eagles for just one tiny 'dee who would hold still long enough for a portrait. This, dear readers, is as close as it gets for me. You can see the field markings, but the pose is far from classic. Poor little guy must have dropped the bud!

Black-capped Chickadees frequently hang out with Ruby-crowned or Golden-crowned Kinglets (or maybe it's the other way around). The Kinglets are usually what catches my attention, "popcorning" among alder and cottonwood branches faster than my eye can follow. Trying to zoom in on them is a hopeless task. They are usually at a distance which makes it hard for me to identify a branch, let alone focus on it. Likewise, the Chickadees pop off just as soon as I spot their perches, and the whole congenial flock, Kinglets and Chickadees alike, seldom populate a site longer than five minutes. That said, I still hope to get that classic shot some day.

Black-Capped Chickadee, Poecile Atricapillus

Day 141: I do envy the people who say, "Oh, the Chickadees are so tame here! They'll come right down and sit on your hand." Any Chickadee I've met during my ramblings in field and forest has been flighty, jumpy, and impossible to photograph, and I've spent hours trying to get a decent shot of one. Today, I had three in a group at Warbler Bridge (Foothills Trail). As soon as my eye fell on this elusive avian quarry among the tangle of limbs, the birds would leap to another branch or disappear into a thicket altogether. They also seem to know how to use the sun to good advantage. As I would maneuver myself into position so that they weren't in silhouette, they'd hop ahead of me again, always keeping the sun in my eyes as I searched for them. I did finally manage a few shots, although they're certainly not field-guide quality. One of these days, you little stinkers...one of these days, I'll catch you when you're not looking!