Lmst

This is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee. This is the time of year when he might invite you into a little cozy crevice in a tree. Should he offer you a bit of vegetation, however, do not accept it unless you are prepared to build a nest and have his babies.

#nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #birds #birdingbc #birdphotography #explorebc #canada #chestnutbackedchickadee

Oy. So much bellyaching from such a wee one. You'd think I'd gone and dumped the feeder into the compost bin.

Still my favorites, though. 🥰

#Chickadee #ChestnutBackedChickadee #BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography

A Chestnut Backed Chickadee — a small songbird with a white body, striated black wings, brown back, black throat, and distinctive black cap — stands on thin branch of an orange tree. There are oranges and leaves scattered about in the background.

Chestnut Backed Chickadee pausing for a fraction of a millisecond pause between jumps, acrobatics, and otherworldly displays of gravity defying tricks. #ChestnutBackedChickadee #BirdPhotography #Nature #BritishColumbia

A chestnut backed chickadee prepares to launch itself through a warren of branches.

Getting close to wrapping up these Favorites of 2024, will have some new stuff to post sometime soon! Today, Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos, the two most common birbs hanging around my backyard. I honestly cannot wait to see all the new babies in Spring/Summer again!

#seattle #backyardbirding #wildlifephotography #seattlewildlife #chickadees #darkeyedjunco #blackcappedchickadee #chestnutbackedchickadee #birds #birding

Here's another photo of the little one who came to inspect me for potentially treat distribution. They are so gorgeous!

#chestnutbackedchickadee #stanleypark #vancouver #birds

A small bird is sitting on a slightly cupped hand with closed fingers. It is pecking at the space between the fingers. The top half of its head is back, the bottom white. The back is chestnut in colour, and the wings are chestnut and grey. The neck is black, and the chest white, grading to chestnut lower down

This Chestnut-Backed Chickadee stood still just barely enough for me to snap a single frame...

#chickadee #ChestnutBackedChickadee #birds #birbs #BirdsOfMastodon

a chestnut backed chickadee perched on a twig, looking at the camera. the background is a pretty green bokeh

Finally got off my butt and put these three Portland Songbird stickers into a nice little package. 🪺

#portlandbirds
#oregonbirds
#birdstickers
#portlandbirdalliance
#chestnutbackedchickadee
#lessergoldfinch
#redbreastednuthatch

Photo of three small packets of square stickers, colorful geometric renderings of bird pairs as noted in the main body of the post.

It’s a beautiful day for backyard birds here in the Pacific Northwest. ☺️

#birdstickers
#pnwbirding
#lessergoldfinch
#chestnutbackedchickadee
#redbreastednuthatch
#backyardbirds
#portlandbirds
#portlandbirder
#birdsofmastodon

Three colorful stickers featuring stylized birds mentioned in the post.

A #chestnutbackedchickadee contorting its neck in an impossible angle to get a better look. #stanleypark #birdphotography #nature #wildlife

I'm happy to see you too!

There are other birds that are more entertaining, but the chickadees remain my favorites as the only birds that consistently interact with me when I step outside. This one was following me around this morning, chattering constantly, even though the bird feeder was full. (They'll *really* get on me when the feeder is empty.)

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #Chickadee #ChestnutBackedChickadee

A chestnut backed chickadee — a small white songbird with a brown back, brown cap, black throat, and striated black and white wings — sings while perched on a thin tree branch.

#chestnutbackedchickadee , even more energetic than the blackcapped chickadee. #birdphotography #nature

I'm grateful for my friends who are willing to take an existential risk just to brighten my day.

(Yes, I know, they're only here for the free food. But it still makes me happy to see them. There's a quite vocal nuthatch who's been over in the mornings as well, but he's been impossible to catch in a photo.)

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee #OakTitmouse

A chestnut-backed chickadee — a small songbird with white breast, black-and-white face, and brown back and wings — perches in a tree and looks around before taking a turn at a feeder.

An oak titmouse — a small gray songbird — perches in a tree and looks around before taking a turn at a feeder.

Well, this was weird.

Walking from my office to the garage, I noticed a juvenile chickadee sitting on my flower bench. And I do mean *sitting*: his little backside was resting flat against the bench. Weirder still, he seemed indifferent to my presence. I passed multiple times, less than two feet away, and when I stopped he'd turn and look at me after 30 seconds or so. But he was otherwise motionless.

Thinking he might be hurt, I brought him a cup of water. As soon as I set down the cup, he flew off to the nearest bush where he perched and chittered like nothing at all had happened.

He was every inch the model of a bored teenager.

Anyone have any guesses what was really happening? 🤔

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee

A chestnut backed chickadee — a small white, black, and brown songbird — sits on a wood bench.

A chestnut backed chickadee — a small white, black, and brown songbird — perches partially hidden within a bougainvillea.

One moment, a National Geographic Award Winning Nature Photo; a millisecond later, bird butt.

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee

Two chickadees — small white, brown, and black songbirds — high up in a tree and unexpectedly viewed from the underside.

I've been talking down my “sports lens” as if it was less than my “birding lens,” forgetting that it was my everything lens until a year ago. And it does a nice job.

The chickadee fledglings are repeating their annual drama of sitting up in the trees, making pathetic little baby bird noises, and waiting for the adults to bring them food. Over the past couple of weeks the parents have been basically telling them to grow up. 😄

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee

A young chestnut backed chickadee — a small songbird with a tan body, brown back and cap, and black-and-white striped wings — perches on a tree branch.

A young chestnut backed chickadee — a small songbird with a tan body, brown back and cap, and black-and-white striped wings — perches high up on a tree branch and whines that it's hungry.

When I started watching the birds in our yard, I was captivated by these little black, brown, and white birds that I thought were “sparrows.” All I knew about sparrows was my mom hated them. She'd gush when she saw robins or jays or (especially) cardinals in the yard, but the sparrows were... meh. Not worthy of putting feed out.

But I loved these little guys. They chuckled to me, waited while I refilled the feeder, hassled me it when it was empty, and always seemed happy to see me when I walked by. So I spent a lot of time watching them. And took tons of pictures.

It was two years before I learned they're chickadees, and they are well known for being cheerful and engaging with people. Simultaneously I discovered the beautiful range of native and migratory sparrows in our yard, each with its own song and personality.

Glad for once I ignored my mom. 🤷‍♂️

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee

A Chestnut-Backed Chickadee — a small songbird with a white face and body, black cap, and brown striped wings — sings while perched on a thin tree branch.

After eating me out of house and home for all of January, the amount of feed consumed has dropped in half in just two days. Which means we're moving to nesting season. The first year I had the feeder up the chickadees vanished completely; I was terrified something terrible had happened to them. Maybe those new hawks in the neighborhood....? But no: all I had to do was wait until March, and then I was up to my antlers in them.

#BackyardBirds #Birds #BirdPhotography #ChestnutBackedChickadee

A Chestnut-Backed Chickadee perched at a bird feeder with an enormous peanut gripped in its beak.

More #birding pictures after a break for bad weather. We went out New Years Day to get a start on our yearlist. I got a great picture of a #ChestnutBackedChickadee, except for the cut-off tail, a #LesserScaup, a #BlackCappedChickadee and (maybe) a maculatus #SpottedTowhee in light rain.