Chipping Sparrow

Male Chipping Sparrow

I photographed this Chipping Sparrow on the same morning I took the Yellow-rumped photo. He's sitting in a clump of blossoms in a flowering crab apple tree. It's rare to have perfect conditions but this particular morning was about as close to perfection as you can get...beautiful blue sky, light breeze, great lighting, and I was able to get fairly close to this bird. I haven't had much luck since. I have spotted a couple of House Wrens checking out one of my nest boxes and I've narrowed down a small area that a male Common Yellowthroat has been advertising his presence from. I saw one of the wrens taking sticks into the nest box but they also seemed to be spending a lot of time over in a brushy area. I did a little research and found out the male starts building several nests, usually with sticks, before the female arrives. After she shows up, she checks out the nests, picks one she likes, then starts building the foundation which consists of grasses or feathers. If she picks the nest box I have a chance to get some great photos.

On May 10th while I was shooting in the backyard a Black-capped Chickadee flew in and helped itself to some suet. This is the first chickadee we have had at our feeding station. If you have the right habitat chickadees are a common bird around feeders. This is good news for us because it means the land is becoming more suitable for, not only the chickadee, but a wide variety of birds. Gena grew up on 50 acres of woods in New York state and the chickadees were very abundant at their feeders, often perching on her father as he put out sunflower seed. Now that would be neat!