Chickadee at its feeder
One of the backyard’s Black-capped chickadees as it landed on their feeder. I liked the motion in the wings and the grip on the post by its feet.
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Backyard Chickadees
It was a sunny morning today so I spent some time photographing the Black-capped chickadees that live in our backyard. There are several of them that share the bird seed we put out with a large flock of Common redpolls and a few Red-breasted nuthatch through the winter.
As from a couple of weeks ago with their redpoll cousins, the chickadees were elusive to capture nicely in flight. But it was a very nice time with my backyard neighbours.
A couple from the morning.
I like my backyard, it’s a cool place.
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Common redpolls in the backyard
The common redpolls (Carduelis flammea) are, as the name implies, common across Canada’s lower latitudes in the winter. However, they are new to my backyard. We have had scores of Black-capped chickadees since we put out a winter bird feeder several years ago but not redpolls. This year, there is a flock of about ten that spend much of the day in the trees behind our house flitting back and forth to the feeder. They are joined now and then by a larger mob of about thirty more redpolls. All of them seem to play nice with the incumbent chickadees so they have been a great, and colourful, addition to the forest that edges my backyard.
The morning I spent with them this weekend was cold so all of the birds were eating a lot and flying around. My fingers didn’t like the -20˚C but it was a lot of fun standing in the middle of activity.
I set up early so the light was decidedly bluish. When it came up, the sun went in and out of the clouds so I had a lot of different moods to work with. It was a very fun morning at home.
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Of Chipmunks and Squirrels
With the temperature rocketing up to 23°C on Sunday, everything seemed lively throughout the day. The animals in my backyard were no exception and they were rather frisky while I photographed around my deck. The squirrel who has lived near us for five years was chirping away like he’d never seen us before. That was fun and I like this image of him poling out amongst the branches.
One of the chipmunks came down from the rocks looking for a snack. The blue jays were slow to arrive for their peanuts on the deck and this fellow wasted no time scooping up one near the edge.
After a short retreat to a scrap pile beside the fire pit, the shell was cracked and the feast was on. I’m really enjoying photographing the animals around my house at this point in the early spring. The drives into the mountains and out onto the prairies are fantastic but it’s nice to have the backyard as another great option that is so close at hand.
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Backyard Wildlife
A quiet morning in Bragg Creek with a bit of snow falling. I had some fun photographing the animals who came by for a few peanuts.
