Chickadees

One of these little Black Capped Chickadees was frequenting our fence post, so we got one of those bird seed bells to set out. We were hoping to attract more, or at least get the one to hang around a little longer. It worked! Molly was ecstatic. She sat watching out the window making little clicking noises at them. I've never heard a cat do that before.

These little guys are found just about all over northern North America. Not in TX or GA.

The first time I saw these birds, my first thought was "oh, how cute!" I read that they are universally considered cute. Don't you just want to cup it in your hand and stroke that little head?

You can listen to one here:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/sounds

Matthew and Emma recognized the calls right away.

Can you imagine sitting with your legs like that while you eat?

I spy with my little eye...

It always amazes me how the markings and coloring on animals are so uniform and perfect.

This was through the window, so a little fuzzy. Look at the beak on this one. I didn't even realize it was so long until going back through the pictures....yeah, cuz I'm standing IN the house taking the picture. :-)

I googled and found this on Wikipedia:

In the states of Alaska and Washington, and in parts of western Canada, Black-capped Chickadees are among a number of bird species affected by an unknown agent that is causing beak deformities, which may cause stress for affected species by inhibiting feeding ability, mating, and grooming. Black-capped Chickadees were the first affected bird species, with reports of the deformity beginning in Alaska in the late 1990s, but more recently the deformity has been observed in close to 30 bird species in the affected areas, as reported by the Alaska Science Center of the United States Geological Survey.

It doesn't specify what the beak deformity is, but this looks like a deformity to me. You? Ha, maybe the shorter beak is deformed? Na...all the pics I found online showed it being short/normal. I could see where it might come in handy digging and prodding for seed/food, but wouldn't it be hard to get it into his mouth?

Never thought about how strong their little toes must be...

When I saw this one through the window, at first glance I thought it was a small robin. But, when I started going through the pictures I realized it wasn't. It is a Red Breasted Nuthatch. They are often found mingling with Chickadees and even answer/respond to the Chickadee calls. He's got some big feet!

Emma and Matthew wanted to build a nest for the birds.
Emma was upset that the nest wasn't used right away. After we talked about it, she decided that the birds feel safer in a tree (especially since there is a squirrel who likes to raid this bird bell) and would probably be thrilled to use their "nest" for building materials and spare parts.