My spark bird, the Carolina Chickadee

It all started with a simple, little bird at a simple, little feeder and grew from there. I still remember the day I noticed the little, gray, white, and black bird at my parents’ feeder and how interesting I found it to be. I quickly snapped a shot and set off to identify it. A Carolina Chickadee is what came up when I searched online. A Carolina Chickadee, a resident bird that lives in my area year round yet in the 8 or so years that I had lived in North Carolina I had never noticed one before. How unfortunate for me. These little birds bring big smiles whenever I catch a glimpse of one or hear one. That simple, little feeder has grown to include over 8 feeders spaced around my backyard. I have a few chickadees that regularly come to feeders now. Each time they seem to announce themselves with their “chicka dee dee dee” call and I often wonder if they are letting me know they are here or talking to each other, I like to think the former.

I now know that there are 5 species of Chickadees in the North America:

• Carolina Chickadee

• Black-capped Chickadee

• Boreal Chickadee – probably requires a trip to Canada to see

• Mountain Chickadee – need to head out the to California and the SW United States for this one

• Chestnut-backed Chickadee – need to head to Northern California and the PNW area for this one

The last three on the list above are still on my “waiting to see” list.

Carolina Chickadee