Black-capped Chickadees
Last night's migration brought more Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers into the stream corridor of Pheasant Branch Conservancy. Tree buds are starting to become noticeable as spring continues to awaken in southern Wisconsin. Often times before meeting my birding friends, I'll wait near the trail entrance and watch the sunrise through the trees. As the darkness dwindles, the woods begin to come alive with the song of birds. Among the first I hear are cheerful "fee-bee" songs of Black-capped Chickadees.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I located a pair of chickadees diligently excavating a nesting cavity along the corridor trail. Nearly every time I walk by the spot with the sloped tree they've selected, one or both of them are engaged in the effort. Even so, it may not be the only cavity they're working on! Often times, one is busily excavating while the other seems less enthusiastic about the project, watching the hard work of its mate from a nearby branch.
I haven't observed them long enough to discern if the distribution of work has been equal. But I did notice that the chickadees would pause for a few seconds once they've released the bits of wood from their bills into the stream below – a perfect digiscoping opportunity! And that's what I did this morning.
I admire Black-capped Chickadees. From their endurance over the winter months to their energetic behavior - they really are magnificent and beautiful little songbirds. Also amazing are their extraordinary complex warning vocalizations:
"Researchers found that the chickadees responded differently to predators of different sizes. Small raptors such as pygmy owls, for example, elicited the most frenzied chickadee danger calls. The alarms were punctuated with several extra 'dees' at the end of the 'chick-a-dee' call."
Sure, the flashy migratory birds are awesome, but I’m compelled to pay tribute and give respect to the frisky little birds that stay with us all year as well!
All images © 2008 Mike McDowell
posted by Mike McDowell @ 11:54 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I'm with you, Mike. We don't give credit where credit is due to those little ones that tough out the winter. Another bird that comes to mind is the Dark-eyed Junco.
The hummers are coming back to Puget Sound, but I'm a fan of the pair of Anna's that over-winter in my neighbor's backyard. I take in my feeder, but the neighbor provides for the 2 tough little birds all winter - and it was a harsh one by Puget Sound standards this year.
Mine are like family. Great Blog as usual. ;)
Beautiful. Funny, my morning post was a single chickadee too.
The other interesting thing is that Nuthatches are tuned into the Dee's too and respond the same way that the Chickadee's do. Two species get the warning and information because the Chickadee's also indicate the "size" of the predator--less dee's for a large predator more as you said for a smaller one.
Thanks!
Mike M.
I learned something new about Chickadees - thank you! I thought that their "fee bee" calls were cheery but I had noticed the other calls and now I will listen even more closely.
Shell
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