Black-capped Chickadee

OUR BACKYARD sports a few attractions for birds. A decrepit old apple tree provides a steady diet for insects and they in turn feed the birds. A few years ago, we added a tiny waterfall to the pond, attracting every sort, from Cooper’s Hawks and owls to crows and robins to warblers and bushtits. Rufous Hummingbirds, who returned to town recently, sometimes patrol the pond perimeter, chasing off “intruders.” Our seed feeder supplies the many juncos year-round, as well as House Finches, who recently reappeared on schedule, and their Goldfinch cousins. Suet attracts many of the smaller birds as well as the occasional Flicker and Downy Woodpecker. And in the past month, I’ve seen a pickup in activity from chickadees, one of my Missouri grandmother’s favorites, who are beginning their spring courtships and nest-building.

CHICKADEES ARE AVIAN Paul Reveres. They are one of the few birds named after their distinctive call, chicka-dee-dee-dee-dee. The “dee” contains a buzzy sound and I was delighted to learn that the level of danger they signal to their mates and fellow small birds corresponds to the numbers of “dees” at the end. One spring when the chickadees were making regular trips to the feeder—where they pick up the seed and immediately leave— I tested my danger level. Sitting next to the feeder, I was happy to learn I was merely a three or four-dee threat.

TWO KINDS VISIT us, the Black-capped Chickadee that I’ve been seeing lately and the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Many stick around all year, unlike so many other birds that are currently on the move. According to Cornell’s Birdcast, nearly 212,000 birds passed over our county two nights ago; last night, it was a mere 69,000. For the local land trust I produced a short slideshow—with music!—about the spring migration. The main story now is that ducks are beginning to move inland and shorebirds fly north to breed. We’re just a few days or weeks away from seeing the migrant warblers and tanagers that make late spring one of the wondrous times for birds here. Chickadees provide their alarms as a free service to these stopover flocks, who also intermingle with the chickadees, presumably to learn about local seed cafes and watering holes. I photographed this Black-capped Chickadee not in my yard but at nearby Kah-Tai Lagoon, a wetland and small forest that the local Admiralty Audubon Society fought in the 1970s to preserve and still diligently maintains. I’m grateful for that.

Nikon D500, 420mm, 1/800th second at f5.6, ISO 200