Chick magnet

The sunny morning we woke up to today seems to not only have lifted the spirits of most everyone I know, but rejuvenated the birds as well—I think I saw more activity at my feeder this morning than I'd had since last Wednesday. Or maybe they're just as relieved to have made it to Hump Day as the rest of us. In any case, I most definitely am not complaining.

A White-breasted Nuthatch came in while I was standing next to the window:



And I saw some Titmice as well:





But it was the Chickadees that were by far the most frequent visitors to my feeder this morning, so



You've got a little something on your chin there, dude:



I liked the seed that's just about to tip over the rim in this shot:



With this one I was struck by the position of its claws—one is about to grab onto the outer edge of the porch, while the other is much further forward:



The Chickadees also seemed particularly energetic and feisty this morning, chasing each other off of perches and around the feeder more often as I photographed them today than in all the other times I've watched them combined:



A Chickadee keeping a very close eye on the bird that settled on the perch just below it:



At times I wanted to say, "Seriously, there are six perches on the feeder—do you always need to take the one spot that's occupied?"



And the likely answer if they could talk back? "That would be a yes...":



Finally, the kind of fanned-wing shot you know I can't resist sharing: