My Little Chickadee. #Wordless Wednesday #Black-capped Chickadee

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each and every post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things I see on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, and so my blog is peppered with folks I meet, or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post that day. I respect and appreciate nature and my interaction with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. My career has been in the legal field and I have been a legal secretary for four decades, primarily working in downtown Detroit, and now working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in print journalism in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met and shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing once again in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy – hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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72 Responses to My Little Chickadee. #Wordless Wednesday #Black-capped Chickadee

  1. peggy says:
    April 28, 2021 at 5:50 am

    Great captures of this little bird that I love to watch.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 7:00 am

      Thanks Peggy. I’ve only been seeing chickadees at the Park since I started putting out sunflower seeds and he now sees me spreading them on the log and positions himself in a tree for the second I step back onto the path. They are so cute.

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      • peggy says:
        April 28, 2021 at 9:50 am

        So great to know you are feeding these little birds. This little bird probably thinks you are a wonderful person, which you are.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 28, 2021 at 8:22 pm

        Thank you Peggy. Bringing the sunflower seeds was the best idea I had and even though the squirrels make a beeline for them, the Chickadees and Cardinals seem to get their fair share as well. I would like to return to feeding the birds in the yard one day. I was feeding six squirrels, a pair of Cardinals and a pair of Jays over several years’ time. I put down peanuts on the porch in Summer and had a small basket near the porch for the Winter. A Cooper’s Hawk got all my squirrels – they stopped showing up within a week’s time and my neighbor told me. His plant was closed for COVID and he was sitting in his living room window and saw the hawk. I would have stopped feeding them had I known. That was a blow to the Cardinals and Jays I’m sure, but I didn’t want to worry about them being prey as well. I don’t see them in the tree anymore, so hope they moved to another neighborhood.

        Liked by 1 person

      • peggy says:
        April 29, 2021 at 4:29 am

        We have a lot of hawks in the country. Was feeding corn to a duck that stayed in the pond next door and a hawk got him. Had fed that duck for a year. Makes a person sad, but that is how nature works.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 29, 2021 at 8:25 pm

        Yes, it is sad. I know people will say “well, a hawk has got to eat too.” But I don’t want to know about it or see it. A Peregrine Falcon chasing a smaller bird in mid-air and hearing its shrieks as it was being pursued made me feel sad. We have lots of Mallards and Canada Geese at Council Point Park and the ducks will never approach humans for food. They do that in the bigger parks sometimes where people regularly feed them corn. Sometimes people bring bread to feed them, but not regularly. So, in December, I was walking on the path at the Park and suddenly a group of ducks came up to me, really close and gathered around me – no camera that day as it was supposed to snow and very gray. That was not ordinary duck behavior and there were two big ducks out in front of the Mallards. They were big like Pekin ducks, but light brown in color. The next day I went, I took some crackers to feed them and got some pictures of them on a cement storm drain eating crackers. Other walkers said they were getting “visited” by these ducks. I looked at my photos, did a Google image search – nothing. So I wrote to a local Duck Sanctuary. This guy and his wife rescue wounded or abandoned waterfowl and they live with them – they have a big barn and a big pond. So I sent him the pictures and told him what happened. He said they were Domestic Khaki Campbell ducks and someone had dumped them. He asked me to call him and he or some volunteers who help him in my area (he lives about 25 miles away) would come and get them and they could go live with Matt and his wife. I never saw them again and I worried about them all Winter. They were used to being around humans, so had no fear.

        Liked by 1 person

      • peggy says:
        April 30, 2021 at 5:37 am

        You have great compassion for the creatures of this world. The duck hunters here in Arkansas bother me. I think they kill too many of the Mallard ducks.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 30, 2021 at 7:02 am

        Thank you Peggy – when I was younger I wanted to become a veterinarian. My grades in science and math were not good so I had to abandon that idea but I wish I had become a vet tech or something in that field. I don’t have any pets now … my canary died in December 2016. He had a stroke and I had to have him euthanized. It tore a whole in my heart so I won’t go through that again. Now I have adopted the squirrels and birds … interacting with them benefits both of us. Now I’m off to the Park to feed those hungry critters.

        Liked by 1 person

      • peggy says:
        April 30, 2021 at 9:31 am

        Takes as many years to become a vet as it does to become a doctor. My granddaughter wanted to become a vet, but is becoming a physical therapist.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 30, 2021 at 7:17 pm

        Yes, that’s true and we only have on veterinary college here in Michigan and I understand it costs as much as regular med school too. That’s good for your granddaughter because physical therapists will always be needed.

        Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 7:01 am

      They are so dainty and cute next to the bigger birds. We don’t have them in the neighborhood, just at the Park. I would love to start feeding the birds here at the house again, but worry about the hawks I see cruising above in the neighborhood and so for now, I’ll be content to see them in the Park only.

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      • Anne Mehrling says:
        April 28, 2021 at 4:38 pm

        I know we have hawks here, but I feed the birds. They will die happier if they are well fed. Silly, I know.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 28, 2021 at 9:39 pm

        No, it’s not silly at all. I feel badly I stopped feeding the birds around the house. First of all I had to stop in 2008 due to the rats from the neighbor behind when the dog was left out 24/7/365. I took the feeders and birdbaths away after the pest control service put out bait. In 2020, I stopped feeding the birds after the squirrels all were scooped up by the hawks. So, I have no way of knowing if the hawk sets its sights on the birds too. I’ve not seen them around lately. Years ago I saw/heard a Peregrine Falcon go after a medium-sized bird in mid-air. The shrieks of terror from the bird before its demise was horrible to hear. Every day I put out treats at the Park, I don’t know if a bird or a squirrel will come to feast and be preyed upon. I like to think I lessened their chances where I put the food in two safe places, but then they run or fly away with it out in the open and are sitting ducks.

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      • Anne Mehrling says:
        April 29, 2021 at 2:09 am

        You know too much about hawks, and you can’t erase that.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 29, 2021 at 8:08 pm

        Yes, I do and the oddest thing happened today Anne. I believed all six of those squirrels had been taken by the hawk. There were 2 gray, 2 black and 2 Fox squirrels. The one Fox squirrel had mange so bad all his fur was gone – I wasn’t sure what type of squirrel he was and how he survived the Winter of 2019-2020 I don’t know. So I’ve not seen any squirrels in the neighborhood – they have to be there as my phone line got munched on again back in February this year. Lately I saw a black squirrel in the tree across the street. Today I went to get the mail and that squirrel was dragging an entire slice of pizza across the street and he/she put it on my lawn (City property). He picked it up and started nibbling on it. I opened the door, we made eye contact and he came running up to the porch. No, I could not start feeding him … but he sat on the top step looking at me. I “caved” … went and got 1/2 dozen of peanuts. Came back, he was still there. Put them out and he took two and buried them in the front lawn. Then came back through the front garden which is how they did it before … the mulch is high so easier to reach. So it would not just be a coincidence that he wanted me to see him … maybe I’m silly? I don’t think so. Tomorrow, he will be looking for me. I hope I don’t doom him … I should ask Jeff if the hawk is still nearby.

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      • Anne Mehrling says:
        April 29, 2021 at 11:43 pm

        That’s one brave squirrel!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Barbara Rodgers says:
    April 28, 2021 at 6:49 am

    I 💙 these chickadee pictures! They are the sweetest little birds. The second picture is priceless, with his feet all ready for the landing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 7:03 am

      Thanks Barbara – they have been a real treat to see at the Park and I’ve only seen them since I started bringing the sunflower seeds. They are really cute and zoom down once I lay the seeds onto the top of the log. The squirrels make a beeline for the seeds too. The feet ready for landing shot was fun to find in my pictures – I didn’t take it intentionally. 🙂

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  4. Sandra J says:
    April 28, 2021 at 6:55 am

    One of the sweetest little birds in the forest. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 7:10 am

      I sure agree with you Sandra. I get such joy seeing them come as close as they will dare before I step back. I really like watching the daily videos by Jocelyn Anderson when she
      feeds the birds from her hand at Kensington Metropark … I am wistful while thinking “could I ever be that lucky to have them trust me and feed from my hand?” My friend Carol has a birdfeeder and birdbath out year-around and will say the chickadees have landed on her head or shoulder or have taken seeds from her hand while she is loading the feeder.

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  5. Kate Crimmins says:
    April 28, 2021 at 7:54 am

    We have lots of these.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Rebecca says:
    April 28, 2021 at 9:52 am

    I love to hear the call of these little birds and to watch as they dart in and away from the feeder. Wonderful photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 8:15 pm

      Glad you liked the photos Rebecca. I originally called the post “Chickadee-dee-dee” for their call but changed it in case someone had not heard that call. I also hear “fee bee” all the time as well. I’ve never seen the Chickadees at the Park before this year after I started bringing some sunflower seeds to spread on the log and the ground. Now they show up regularly – what a treat to see.

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  7. Joni says:
    April 28, 2021 at 9:59 am

    So cute! I love the second action shot. Linda….can you give me a link to one of your bluejay/cardinal bird posts……my south African blogger friend would like to see what one look like. She records bird species she has seen and is at 107…..most of them exotic looking to me. I’m not sure we even have that many species here!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 8:25 pm

      Glad you liked the cute photos Joni and that was an unexpected surprise when I uploaded the pictures to find the Chickadee about to land in the pile of seeds 🙂 I will give you this post I did for the Great American Bird Count 2021. I had a few pictures of Blue Jays up close in that post. That will give your blogger friend an idea of how pretty they as well as their size. That’s a lot of types of birds! https://lindaschaubblog.net/2021/02/22/winter-brrrds/

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      Reply
      • Joni says:
        April 28, 2021 at 10:13 pm

        Thanks Linda – that link was perfect and was the one I was thinking of. I guess our birds might seem exotic to her, in the same way. Her name is Anne and her blog is Something Over Tea. She’s a retired teacher and often posts photos of giraffes and lions and elephants – it’s nice to see that part of the world. I know you don’t need any more blogs to read but here’s the link if you want to check it out. http://www.somethingovertea.wordpress.com

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 29, 2021 at 7:36 pm

        You’re welcome Joni … at first I was going to send the baby Blue Jays learning to scam peanuts, then remembered this post which the Blue Jays are much more vibrant. The Chickadees are so cute but the ducks and geese are monopolizing the area now so I hope they don’t go foraging somewhere and I don’t see them. I am expecting the gosling’s arrival at the Park any day now. I take more photos when they are very young (before they are gangly looking teenagers). I went to Anne’s site and read today’s post – oh my, I was misting up while reading it and followed her site without looking anywhere else. I will look forward to seeing the animals from Anne’s part of the world. Thank you for sending me there.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        April 29, 2021 at 11:36 pm

        Yes it was a sad story….she sometimes will post short stories. Her writing reminds me of Maeve Binchy, always a favorite author of mine. The animal pictures are when she visits the game reserves. I think South Africa has been in lockdown for a year with no or little vaccine supply. She posted a photo of an olive colored bird once, so striking, and most of the species are not things you would see here. I love the zebra pictures, and there’s an urban herd of cattle which roams the town. She followed/commented on my post from a long time ago about my Dutch grandmother, as many of the Dutch settled in South Africa. It’s nice to see something of a different part of the world, and there are so many talented writers on here.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 30, 2021 at 6:22 pm

        I like short stories. Another fellow blogger does short stories sometimes, but she only posts every 3-4 weeks. I will look forward to seeing the animals from the game reserves too. My boss/wife/kid and family friends went to South Africa a few years ago and he sent me all his photos to look at. They went on a safari. He took them with his phone from the safari wagon they were in. I had someone following my blog for a while and she never said where she lived but there was a large time difference … she was especially interested in woodpeckers, so I sent her some of my posts where I mentioned woodpeckers. She took photos and also drew or painted birds. I just looked and she’s not posted since last November. https://bindyamc.wordpress.com/

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        April 30, 2021 at 11:40 pm

        Thanks Linda. I need to go through my reader and delete some older bloggers who haven’t posted in the past year. Ally and LA and several other people have commented on how many long time bloggers have dropped out. Maybe everyone is sick of being on the computer all day and now that things have opened up more in some areas want to be out and about?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        May 1, 2021 at 7:52 pm

        I have to do that again – I did a few who have seemingly vanished into thin air after you and I discussed it not too long ago. There are bloggers who did a daily post and then now nothing. Shelley only posts a couple of times a month now. Yvette sometimes posts twice a day and has been on a blogging break since early March. I think if I stepped back and got out of the routine it would be hard to get back. I am just getting here now and have to catch up in Reader for Thursday through today. And I’ve not written Monday’s post though I have the photos ready/sorted.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:
        May 1, 2021 at 8:22 pm

        I whittled it down to 44 people I follow, but at least half of the do not post consistently. I’m caught up on Reader for a change and have a post ahead, so will read for fun tonight!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        May 1, 2021 at 9:00 pm

        That’s great … you are really ahead! I should be done here in the next 10 minutes and will go to Reader for an hour. Will have to catch up more tomorrow in Reader after I write Monday’s post.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. J P says:
    April 28, 2021 at 10:07 am

    I liked bird pictures better before I discovered the hole under the eave of my house that has birds flying in and out of my attic. At least these are outdoors.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 8:36 pm

      Oh my! First the squirrels getting into your car wires, now birds flying in and out of your attic – what is next? My grandmother got squirrels in her attic and had to have a pest removal service come and trap them and boy did those squirrels wreak havoc up there … lots of damage, gnawing on everything, looking for food. I hope you are done dealing with critter damage. I just today am ant free after the annual siege of little black ants. They were everywhere, despite putting Terro Liquid Bait traps down and they were in the three rooms I use the most. Yesterday I killed 40 – today they are all gone and I am breathing a huge sigh of relief, believe me!

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  9. AnnMarie R stevens says:
    April 28, 2021 at 10:30 am

    Miss Linda…………………………you are excellent in your instant photos of this little chickadee………….I especially like the one in mid air above the perch-branch

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 8:52 pm

      That little chickadee was an excellent subject Ann Marie – he was such a cutie pie. I didn’t know I got a photo of him in mid air as he was about to land on the log where the seeds were at the time. What a nice surprise when I uploaded the pictures!

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  10. Ally Bean says:
    April 28, 2021 at 11:02 am

    Oh cute! So sweet.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. incahootswithmuddyboots says:
    April 28, 2021 at 1:18 pm

    Chickadees are one of my favorite birds. We get lots of them in the garden and I love watching them. Your photos captured a nice variety of bird action!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 28, 2021 at 9:18 pm

      They are so cute aren’t they Sabine. I never see them around the house, just at the Park since I started taking sunflower seeds. I enjoy seeing these Chickadees and hate when the ducks and geese horn in and keep them from accessing the seeds. I was excited to find the photos of the Chickadee landing into the pile of seeds and also leaving when I looked at my pictures on the screen. I didn’t know I captured those shots at the time, so what a treat!

      Liked by 1 person

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      • incahootswithmuddyboots says:
        April 28, 2021 at 10:58 pm

        Well done, Linda! And what a nice surprise to get the fun shots of these cute birds!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 29, 2021 at 7:56 pm

        I was lucky with this Chickadee Sabine. It was great to see the “landing” shot as well as the “fly away” shot. Every day I make my first stop at the Safe Haven Tree and he/she is there and then I get to the other side of the Park and there is another Chickadee. I suspect there are a few, unless it is following me. There is a pair of Cardinals there too and they come right over for seeds. I’m glad I started putting them out. The squirrels will glom onto the seeds once they see them and save the peanuts “to go”. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  12. ruthsoaper says:
    April 28, 2021 at 2:20 pm

    Nice shots of that little cutie. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Eilene Lyon says:
    April 28, 2021 at 10:46 pm

    I love these little guys – until I have to band them or take them out of a mist net. Man, those sharp little beaks can inflict serious pain! Your photos are terrific!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 29, 2021 at 7:51 pm

      Thank you Eilene. The Chickadee landing was pure luck and I didn’t know I had it until I was going through the pictures on the computer screen. I was fairly close up – usually they are so tiny, they look like dots in my shots. I am on Twitter just for the weather, news and some nature sites. The other day someone posted a picture of a songbird with three pink bands on its feet. I was surprised there were so many bands. I had pet birds for years and they are such great companions. My last canary liked toasted bagels. We would split one every day. I’d have to put his piece of bagel between the cage bars for him to eat it. He liked the top half of the bagel as it was crispier. Because it was shiny after I toasted it, it stayed really hot when I took it out of the toaster. I had to put one hand in the cage to cover it until it was cold enough for him to eat. I’d be blowing on it on the other side of the cage to cool it. He would impatient and angry with me and peck my fingers, hop up and stomp (as much as a canary can “stomp”) on any finger that was shielding the bagel from him. 🙂 Yes, a sharp beak for sure! On Twitter I follow a bird photographer named Jocelyn Anderson. She takes still shots with a camera (long lens so they are really up close) but I enjoy her daily videos. She takes her camera and takes videos of the birds eating from her hand. Many birds, including Red-Bellied Woodpeckers feed from her hand. It is really fun to see the videos. The Chickadee will ponder over what type of seeds to eat. She has a nice mixture that appeals to all of the birds at this park. I would love to do that. These Chickadees are a little too timid though.

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  14. Tofino Photography says:
    April 29, 2021 at 9:15 am

    Sunflower seeds are their favorite! Gotta loveum!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 29, 2021 at 9:12 pm

      The Chickadees are cute as a button as that saying goes. They are my “newest pals” since I began been toting along sunflower seeds this past Winter. They fly over and wait til I spread them out, but then look at me so that I should leave. They are very timid.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        April 30, 2021 at 1:28 pm

        Always good to make new friends! My hummers are happy little souls,so watching them is always entertaining!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 30, 2021 at 7:32 pm

        They are happy little souls – I would love to see that show every night. Our hummers have not arrived yet … a few more days they say, but the Baltimore Orioles have arrived and are enjoying bird jelly and oranges people put out at their special feeders. I’ve seen one at the Park one time but never in the neighborhood.

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      • Tofino Photography says:
        April 30, 2021 at 8:33 pm

        Is that what Orioles prefer….fruit? What is “Bird Jelly” btw?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        April 30, 2021 at 10:29 pm

        Orioles like oranges – you cut an orange in half and the feeders have a metal piece that looks like a big nail and holds the orange half securely. So you can use that kind of feeder or the flat Oriole feeder that looks like the shallow hummer feeders, but you put “bird jelly” which looks like regular human jelly (like you put on toast, not Jell-o), but is made for birds (in berry flavors) … it is about $7.00 for one jar of jelly. I looked on Wild Birds Unlimited site but the link didn’t work to send a video but good old YouTube had one:

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  15. Laurie says:
    April 29, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    Wow! Excellent chickadee photos. You must be fast with your shutter finger to get those pictures. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 29, 2021 at 9:38 pm

      Ha ha – I was lucky Laurie – I didn’t even see these lucky shots until I had them on the screen. I had the DSLR that morning and had the “sports setting” because I don’t know how to use the camera manually, just on automatic. (Another project for retirement – learn the camera.) So that worked well to get the action shots. (I feel like I just had a “Runfession” here.)

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  16. indianeskitchen says:
    April 30, 2021 at 12:48 am

    Love that last picture in flight!!!!! Our chickadees never come up on the feeder, they only eat from the ground.

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      April 30, 2021 at 7:02 pm

      I was lucky with this Chickadee Diane – he was the only one there so he felt free to feast to his heart’s delight. They are very timid though … I wish I could get them to trust me more. A woman I follow on social media feeds all types of birds from her palm of her hand … she takes videos with her phone and posts them. She has a lot of Chickadees … they’re so cute.

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  17. singlikewildflowers says:
    May 2, 2021 at 12:30 am

    I’ve seen Chickadees before but didn’t know their name till recently. Kids were reading a comic book and Chickadee is one of its characters. Ellis reminded me of its name when we were out for a walk.
    Nice pictures! I especially like the first one where its legs and claws are visible.

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    • Linda Schaub says:
      May 3, 2021 at 8:37 pm

      They are really cute little birds and so tiny next to all the larger birds in the park. Thank you Esther – I am glad you liked the photos and that photo where it is descending was a surprise to me as I didn’t know I had the shot until I saw it on the computer screen. They are newcomers to the Park and it may be because I started spreading sunflower seeds this past Winter.

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  18. Pam Lazos says:
    May 8, 2021 at 9:50 am

    Little sweetie tweeties!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. Anne says:
    May 29, 2021 at 10:09 am

    The second photograph is particularly interesting. I have enjoyed the different poses.

    Liked by 1 person

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