Jon Shiu photographed a Chestnut-backed Chickadee singing, very possibly for a mate. Male birds also sing to establish their territories. But this is Spring so I'm going with singing for a mate.
You can here this bird's call at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chestnut-backed_Chickadee/sounds
Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Boy, oh, boy, is it ever windy here today. Sunny with gusts of wind!
I love these little birds! They travel around in groups, talking up a storm. Craig Tooley recently photographed one. You can see this bird caught a spider.
And here the Chickadee takes flight.
I can hear a flock approaching amongst the trees as they make their distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee" calls and their chittering. Often nuthatches are mixed in the group - quite sociable these chickadees! You can hear their calls at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chestnut-backed_Chickadee/sounds
Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com
ooo, it was COLD early this morning, 37 degrees. That is cold for the coast, for sure! Today is sunny and chilly, with breezes.
Ruth Downes noticed a Chestnut-backed Chickadee on her hummingbird feeder, drinking sugar water.
And Adrian Bennett found a tiny Sierran Treefrog sitting on her nectar feeder. We think the frog may have been attracted to the moisture or perhaps small insects caught in the sugar water on the lid.
Then Thane Frivold's dog, Moon, alerted him to a masked bandit at his feeder one night. Here is the video of the Raccoon obviously relished the sweet treat.
Raccoon raiding a hummingbird feeder by Thane Frivold
Who knew hummingbird feeders were popular with such diverse animals! Thanks to Ruth and Adrian for allowing me to share their photos, and to Thane for allowing me to share his video, with you here.
Today, Wednesday, is one of the most beautiful days of the year. It really feels like Autumn today, with gentle breezes, blue skies and mild temps.
Mary and Dard Hunter had a Chestnut-backed Chickadee nest in their birdhouse. Can you see the chick peeking out the hole?
Mary took this photo, headed into town to do a few errands, and by the time she returned, her husband, Dard, told her the chicks had fledged!
Here's a close-up of one of these beautiful, little birds, taken by Dorise Ford. It's unusual for a chickadee to be at a seed feeder, as they are insect eaters. Maybe this chickadee was just resting!
Here is a map showing their range.
Rick and I also had a family of these chickadees this year in a birdhouse we had attached to a tree. Now we are hearing the fledglings in the trees. They travel in fairly large groups, sometimes accompanied by Pygmy Nuthatches. I love their chirping calls, one of which is "chick-a-dee-dee."
Thanks to Mary and Dorise for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
One of the joys of living by the Pacific Ocean is watching the storms come in. We have two more lined up and then we are promised some warm and dry weather. When the storm let up late yesterday morning, locals headed to the grocery store where we hugged each other and asked how long each other had been out of power. This morning on our walk the beautiful sound of the song of a male American Goldfinch filled the air. We heard more bird chirps behind us and stopped to let them catch up with us. Soon a flock of Pygmy Nuthatches and Chestnut-backed Chickadees were surrounding us with their calls. Now that's what I call magic time.
