Black Capped Chickadees

While seeking out trees in the Rocky River Reservation, I am often followed by Black Capped Chickadees. These birds are small, curious, and brave. They will readily eat from your hand while titmice, nuthatches, and house finches cower. They are also very fast. Of the 200 photos I shot of these birds, only about 30 were worth saving. Everything else was a blur. They land, find a seed they like, and fly away in a second or two. This was one of the clearest and most interesting photos I could get.

If you are interested in hand feeding chickadees it is pretty easy. First, get some seed they like. They are fond of black oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds which are the kind you will see in 10lb. bags in the pet food aisle. If you don't want to buy that much seed, you can use some unsalted sunflower kernels which can be found in the people food aisles at the grocery store. Chickadees seem to like these too.

Next find a place where you see some chickadees congregating. Leave some seed on a stump or bench, and wait for them to start feeding. Once they get comfortable with eating from the stump, put your hand out with some seed. Eventually the chickadees will notice, get curious, and fly over to you. It is important to stay still. If you make any sudden movements, they may get spooked and fly away. Their talons do not hurt, so don't let the claws scare you. One final thing, it is important that you don't try to grab them. They are small, but they are tenacious fighters and will bite and peck if they feel threatened. Let them interact with you on their terms and you will be fine. Have fun!