NO WONDER MY BIRD FEEDER IS ALWAYS EMPTY

CHICKADEES... FIRST BIRDS TO VISIT THE FEEDERS

Tuesday, 9:00 AM.  50 degrees F on the ferry dock, 46 on the back porch.  Wind S, very light with stronger gusts.  The sky has a low overcast and the streets are wet with the trace of rain that has fallen.  The humidity is 89% and the barometer still falling, now at 29.81", predicting several more days of rain.

   I did get a bird feeder filled and a suet log hung up on Saturday, and by Monday mid-morning the chickadees had found them both and were flocking to them.  It won't be long until other avian species are emboldened to do so as well.  I'm taking a chance on the bears leaving them alone.

   Black-capped chickadees are cheerful, gregarious little bundles of energy.  So quick and energetic that they are hard to photograph (as I found out again  yesterday).  They are also either quite tame, or quite fearless, or both, as they will closely investigate a hunter  in their deer stand, or someone sitting quietly  on the porch. I have had them perch on my shoulder or my hat (for a fleeting moment).

   Chickadees are permanent northern residents, toughing out the winter weather with the rest of us mostly non-migrantory species.  To survive the cold they have evolved a very rapid metabolism, their tiny hearts beating up to 650 times per minute.  This requires large amounts of nutritious food, including insect eggs and larvae, almost any kind of seed, and suet if it is available.
   According to the Wisconsin DNR a chickadee will consume as many as 150 sunflower seeds on a cold winter day.  No wonder my bird feeder is always empty.