Black-capped Chickadee

This little Chickadee lives in a grove of spruce trees in one of the local parks. Its neighbours include Ruffed Grouse, Great Horned Owls, Gray Jays and a Pileated Woodpecker to name but a few. The highest this photo got in Explore was #225 on 18th January 2007.

This is a favourite little bird in Alberta and it is found at garden birdfeeders as well as in woodlands. This one was down in one of my local parks. It is a very humbling experience to have them fly down to one's outstretched hand. They are such a welcome sight during the long winter months when there are far fewer things to see.

Quite a dainty picture of the popular little Black-capped Chickadee. Scientists at Lehigh University have found that "seasonal neuronal growth in adult chickadees results in a 30% increase in brain size each fall! The researchers hypothesize that the chickadee's brain swell may be related to the storing of complex spatial information. Each chickadee caches seeds in small pockets over a wide area, and these seed reserves provide the bird's nourishment throughout the winter. Perhaps what is more surprising is that the bird's brain shrinks again in the spring." Wish my brain had that capability, too, then I'd only lose things in the summer time!

The Black-capped Chickadee is the most common bird to fly down to one's hand (my daughter's in this photo) here in Calgary. I have only had these, plus Boreal Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches on my hand but will hope for a White-breasted Nuthatch and maybe even a Downy Woodpecker this winter. Thanks everyone!

The usual friendly little Chickadee.

Thank you, little Chickadee, for making my day! When there is nothing else around, you and your friends are always there to greet me whenever I go for a walk.

Despite the fact that these little birds are so friendly, they can be so difficult to photograph because they are always on the move - well, almost always!

I clicked the camera at the right time, unlike the next photo! Saw this little Chickadee blending in with the fall colours in the background yesterday evening, when I went back to the area where I had found the Long-eared Owl a few days ago. I'm always happy with a half-decent photo of a Chickadee, as they move so fast and are quite difficult to photograph - as proved by the next image.