Posts tagged “Boreal Chickadee

Chickadees in late afternoon sunshine

Through the winter, there are chickadees that hang out in my backyard.  On Sunday afternoon, I found a few of them pecking seeds out of the fresh snow below the feeder.

I took a few minutes to photograph them when the sun had dropped low enough to backlight them and the speckles of snow their pecking threw into the air.

A boreal chickadee came at the last and flitted about for a few seconds before flying off in a spray of glistening snow.


A surprising nest

Chickadee Excavation - 2013 © Christopher Martin

In front of the patio to the front door of my house there is a stump where the previous owners had cut down what must have been a large tree.  Aside from the occasional decoration, this trunk remains largely unused by us.  However, we all like it so there it stays.  Now, I understand why… today a pair of Boreal Chickadees started to dig out their hollow to make their nest.  They carried out small clumps of wood pulp clawed out on every trip.  I hope they choose to stay here.