For some time, we’ve been visited by several wee little Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla). The problem with these cute little guys is that they are so small, fast and timid that they are hard to capture. The are so small and fast that its even difficult for the motion detection to grab them when they are on the feeder.
Not a great shot, but I’ll try to fill in if I can ever get a decent picture of these evasive little guys. This morning as I was leaving the house, I noticed a little chickadee in the rhododendrons near the door incessantly cheeping at me. At first glance, I thought it was a female with its unremarkable coloring. I was a bit surprised that it didn’t fly off as soon as I came near, then it occurred to me that this was no adult chickadee, this must be a fledgling!
There were at least two of these guys unsteadily flitting about the yard near the feeders seemingly without fear of us. In fact, one of our (inside-only) cats was sitting inside the window watching one little guy on the sill and he was completely unperturbed by a fierce (not) predator only inches away behind the glass.
My wife was able to grab a few of these shots this morning. He seemed to have no fear and she could easily have just scooped him up (but didn’t). He just sat there cheeping and holding his mouth open waiting for a handout. We hope these cuties develop some survival skills soon, because they are just so darned cute!
