Birds and Photography

My Little Chickadee

In praise of the small and ever-present black-capped chickadee

“Ah, yeah, yeah, I’ll do that, my little chickadee.” — Flower Belle Lee as played by Mae West in the 1940 movie, “My Little Chickadee”

W.C. Fields and Mae West starred in the comedy movie “My Little Chickadee” in 1940. While the old film may be funny, It might not offer as much continuous entertainment as the bird of the same name.

Few birds are as common as the black-capped chickadee in large tracts of the United States and Canada. Fewer still delight as much as this energetic little creature.

Many bird species are more colorful or rare. But few entertain us like the chickadee as it flits between branches.

These acrobatic birds sometimes hang upside-down from branches as they hunt for food. In wetlands, they hop among cattails to search for grubs.

The name chickadee comes from one of its songs. It often produces a little chick-a-dee-dee-dee sound.

The bird measures four ¾ to 5 ¾ inches long. Yet, it is lively and full of energy.

Black-capped chickadees are often approachable. This behavior makes them good birdwatching and photography subjects. Many birds flee at the sight of a human. But these little birds sometimes let me watch them from ten feet away as they search for food.

I photograph birds almost every day. I look for unusual birds that are colorful, unusual, or passing through as they migrate. But I rarely pass up the charismatic and photogenic black-capped chickadee.