[Tweeters] chickadee abundance

[Mark Egger via Tweeters]

Interesting discussion! Chickadees are a long-time favorite of mine, so I pay close attention to them on an almost daily basis. I don’t keep a feeder, to avoid drawing cats and rats and to reduce dependence of such things, but I do maintain a bird bath, changing the water daily, especially in the dry months. We have both CBs and BCs in good numbers in the neighborhood (just N of Matthews Beach), and both species continue to be present and visit the water source daily, usually multiple times each day, usually in small, single species groups, though other times both arriving about the same time. I have not noticed a significant decline, though it makes sense that they might move on to other water sources when the rains begin. The CBs actually respond when I imitate their “tsika-dee-dee” call or their “agonistic” vocalization after filling the bath with fresh water, flying in to the adjacent apple tree to check things out. Also interesting is that they apparently never actually bathe in the “bath” but just perch on the rim and dip for drinks.  But I have definitely noticed the reported increase in Song Sparrow numbers locally, and they and the towhees seem to prefer bathing over drinking, reinforcing the need for daily cleaning, as they often leave feces in the water while bathing. Long live the Paridae!

Mark