Black capped chickadees embody avian joy.

 

There are few birds present during the winter that elicit a sense of joy more than what chickadees can.  Always active, flitting from perch to perch, they busy themselves with the task of foraging.  It's not only the way that they go about this which embodies a sense of delight, it is the cheerful twittering that accompanies it all.  

I was out for a walk yesterday with my camera enjoying a brief hiatus from the otherwise frigid days that have plagued western Canada this year.  It's hard to enjoy nature when you can't feel your face and your fingers are like the icicles that hang from rooflines.  Trekking along a riparian woodland path, I was pleased to hear the familiar sounds of happiness from active chickadees.  They were busy gleaning morsels from branches, taking seeds from feeders, and singing away from their lofty perches.

You usually don't find just one chickadee by itself.  They tend to congregate in small flocks when it's not the breeding season; they benefit from having numerous eyes on their surroundings and for finding places where feeding is good.  Scanning for food and predators as they work their way through an area, they also lighten the mood and heart of anyone nearby.  How can you witness their movements and songs and not be so affected?

They remind me that spring isn't so very far away.  They have survived the cold and dark winter and still embody the joyful ball of feathers that I have always known.  For me, it was a good day; I witnessed the song and dance of chickadees.

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