The Black-Capped Chickadee

Paul Carrier, a Connecticut birder, sent the following quote on the CT Birds listserv recently:

A great Native American Quote

"We learned to be patient observers like the owl.  We learned cleverness from the crow, and courage from the jay, who will attack an owl ten times it size to drive off its territory.  But above all of them ranked the chickadee, because of its indomitable spirit."

Tom Brown, Jr.  (A Native American Elder)

How interesting it is to mention the small chickadee in the same breath with the larger predatory owl.  But Mr. Brown did.

According to Sibley, there are seven species of chickadee that can be found in North America with the black-capped having the largest range stretching from coast to coast and from about Colorado up to most of Alaska and half of Canada.

The black-capped can be found in wooded areas but is a frequent all year round visitor to bird feeders as you can tell by these pictures I took of my hopper feeder.



As its name states, the black-capped chickadee has a black cap to go with its black throat.  And also as its name indicates, one of the various calls of the bird is its familiar "chickadee dee dee dee".

January 13, 2013 - The GBBC

Start getting your backyard feeders ready for this year's Great Backyard Bird Count which will be held on Feb. 15-18.  More info at: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/whycount.html.

Also, had an immature Cooper's Hawk in the yard today.  I did not have my Canon SLR camera with me but did have iPhone so I was able to get these pictures.

American Tree Sparrow - January 6, 2013

Came home today from birding and saw a sparrow under my hopper feeder which is currently filled with black oiled sunflower seed (BOSS).  Looking closer at it, I saw a central breast spot and a rusty/brown cap on its forehead - an American Tree Sparrow and since I just got back from birding, my camera was with me!

 According to Sibley, the American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) winter in small flocks in weedy or bushy areas.

The American Tree Sparrow winters in a large part of the United States - from Maine to eastern half or Washington and south to the Oklahoma/Texas border.

The summer, and breeding, range of the American Tree Sparrow goes from the northern part of Quebec through Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory of Canada and all of Alaska.


Sibley, David Allen. National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print.

Happy New Year

Ok - My Big Year is over so onto a new theme.  I was thinking about birding one spot through out the year to see what's there and what changes.  I may still do that but I also see doing that can be time consuming and puts me on a schedule/routine.

But I am thinking of just posting pictures I take on various days of birds and then talk about the bird(s).  So, here goes the first one!