My Little Chickadee

My favorite sound in the Spring is that of the chickadee, a tiny bird who graces the trees that surround our home. His voice is loud, clear, and confident and the song the little one sings will stop me in my tracks. I'm not quite sure if our little guy is a Carolina or a Black Capped variety, and frankly it doesn't really matter.... his song is beautiful. It usually starts out as a sharp crisp fee-bee, fee-bee and as it gets louder and bolder it will go into a symphony of trill. Fee-bee, fee-bee dootdootadoot, dootdootadoot. This occurs randomly throughout the day beginning at 4 in the morning right up until dusk. The other morning, after a restless night of sleep, I woke up tired and Grinchy. When I heard my chickadee singing his birdie doo-woop song, my heart softened (and probably grew three sizes in that moment). I felt comforted and encouraged to make it a good day. He returned to sing for me several times that afternoon... singing at the top of his little lungs in the warm sunshine. I stopped the house chores I was doing and went to the porch with binoculars to see if I could catch his performance as he sang from the trees. As I scanned the maple trees in our yard and then the pine trees in my neighbors yard, he suddenly stopped... perhaps he's shy. But I know he will be back, and I hope he enjoys the songbird seed we left for him in our bird feeder. I can't wait to see him, so I will know what variety he is. I can tell you though, I spent hours on the web listening to all manner of chickadee calls, and I can't find one that comes close to the beauty of my bird's song. I have to enjoy his singing as much as I can this season, as he seems to disappear at the end of Spring. 

P.S. You probably won't believe me, but as I finished this entry and went to the porch, my chickadee was singing in the bush next to my house. I saw him with binoculars and he is a Black Capped Chickadee, as he has white eyebrows... just like me!