Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Blacked Capped Chickadee






Small little bird that hangs around our feeder all winter. As I watch it come to the feeder, it first lands on a near by bush for 3 seconds. Then it flies to a branch above the feeder for a couple of seconds. Then it lands on the feeder and gets a seed. This takes about 1 to 2 seconds. It flew back to the bush to crack the seed shell and eat the kernel. After a few times of this it noticed I was sitting near by. The next time after getting a seed it flew to the other side of the street to eat the seed kernel. But the bird kept coming back because I was far enough away.

It has a long tail so the measurement is deceptive of 5 1/2". The House Sparrow measures 6 1/4" for comparison. This bird also has a shorter tail. The Blacked Capped Chickadee has a head a little big for its body size. We live on the southern end of the range in mid Missouri. The Carolina Chickadee comes into Missouri as well. Their calls are different but this does no good for identification, because they learn each others call.

They breed to a hybrid. The Blacked Capped has a little bit of gold in its breast while the Carolina has a white breast.

The bird is inquisitive and will come by when I'm hiking in the woods to see what I am up to.

They are able to store food and remember where they hid it and what kind of food is where. They can remember where they hid their food up to 28 days. They usually hide the food in tree bark or lichen patches.

Let us take the example of the Chickadee and store God's work in our heart for Christian living and spiritual nourishment.

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. KJV

Father, thank you for this fun bird that shows the way to live in the cold winter. Let me store your Word in my heart to serve You.

2 comments:

  1. Love your blog today Scott. Thanks.

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  2. I always enjoyed watching these birds. I'm going to sit outside with seed in my hand to get one to eat out of my hand. I'll probably wait for warmer weather.

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