Emily+Observation

March 5, 2011

1:03 pm

My backyard.

There are about six chickadees today, all two feeders. They all fly to the same locations: Feeders, pine trees, bush. The bush seems to be the favorite. One chickadee just dive-bombed another, scaring it off so it could have a turn at the feeder.

1:16- Something has caused all of the chickadees to fly away in fright, all screaming "chip chip chip!" (which is the alarm call). All birds have flown away.

1:17- One chickadee has returned, its movement jerky with fright. It just sits in he bush.

1:18- The chickadee has flown away, screeching "phoebe! Phoebe!" and the others respond with "chickadee-dee-dee!" (common calls). As it turns out, five large ravens scared the birds away.

1:20- All birds have returned, about one to two at a time. There are two chickadees, who quietly chirp "chickadee-dee," to each other and eat.

March 6, 2011

9:21 am

My backyard

There are about four chickadees today. They are eating from the same feeders as yesterday. They are also eating something off the branches. Buds, perhaps? I have also noticed that the birds move in a jerky, almost robotic motion, and that when they take off, their wings flutter about ten times before going into a steady flight pattern.

9:26- There are now only two chickadees. The others have flown into a pine tree.

9:27- There are now five chickadees. They all flew in from either the pine tree or other surrounding trees.

9:29- A Red-Tailed hawk just came down and tried to take a chickadee! It missed though, and flew away. There is only one chickadee now, and it's hiding in a pine.

9:31- The chickadees have returned. There are six. They are eating off the ground, the feeders, an the bush.

9:33- The chickadees have fled for some reason. The hawk is nowhere in sight.

9:34- All chickadees/ other birds have returned. There are six chickadees. They continue to eat. One just chased the another away. It returned son after. There are now seven chickadees. They seem to like the suet and black sunflower seed feeders the most.

9:36- The chickadees continue to eat.

March 6, 2011

3:32 pm

My backyard

There is only one chickadee today. It is raining heavily. The bird is just sitting in the bush, occasionally flying to the feeders.

3:35- The chickadee is preening (cleaning) itself.

3:36- There are now two chickadees, and both are hiding in the bush, pecking at the branches.

3:40- The chickadees are still in the bush, and the rain has gotten worse, as has the wind.

3:44- The chickadees have flown away in search of better shelter.

3:45- Three chickadees have come. They are eating, chasing each other playfully, and calling"chickadee-dee-dee!"

3:46- There are six chickadees, two of which flew in from a tree by the road. Perhaps there is a nest, for they are flying back and forth between the feeders and the tree.

3:48- There are now ten chickadees, flying in from everywhere. They are all eating, calling, and sitting in either the trees or the bush.

March 9. 2011

3:07 pm

My backyard

Today is sunny/overcast. There are seven chickadees, all at the same feeders as yesterday. They continuously fly from the feeders to the trees to the bush, and then back again. They're not doing anything unusual.

3:13- There are about four chickadees now. One just attacked another.

3:15- All of the chickadees just flew away in a rush.

3:16- The chickadees are back, there are about six. What scared them is unknown. They just chased some Mourning doves and sparrows away. They are apparently defending their territory.

3:18- More chickadees just flew in. There are now eight. They continue to eat.

3:20- There are now five chickadees. They are always coming and going.

3:23- There are now two chickadees. Each day, it seems the number of chickadees deteriorates as the day draws to night.

3:25- There are three chickadees. All of the chickadees that I've seen are quite fat.

3:27- The chickadees have flown away, calling "phoebe, phoebe."

March 13, 2011

1:04 pm

My backyard

It is overcast today. There are about five chickadees, and countless other birds. There is a large gray squirrel on one of the chickadee's feeders, and they are angrily dive bombing it.

1:09- There are a four chickadees. They seem to have given up on the squirrel, and they are staying i the bush, pecking at the branches.

1:14- There are two chickadees now. They are angrily chirping at the squirrel.

1:16- There are now about twelve chickadees, the highest amount yet. One just tried scaring a dove away by pulling on its tail! It failed, though, the dove just got angry.

1:18- The squirrel has run away. There is now only one chickadee. It is eating at the feeder.

1:20- There are now three chickadees. They quietly eat, and then fly to the bush.

1:23- The chickadees have flown away.

March 13,2011 3:16 pm

My backyard

There is one chickadee right now. A small red squirrel has taken the place of the red squirrel.

3:20- There are now about ten chickadees. I have no idea where they all came from. They all just dive bombed the squirrel at once, and it ran away, chattering.

3:23- A male cardinal just flew in. The chickadees don't seem to care; they're leaving him alone. Every two seconds it seems as though when one chickadee leaves, two fly in! They're everywhere!

3:25- The squirrel has returned, but he's staying on the ground. Some chickadees have moved on to other feeders.

3:27- There are now five chickadees. Two are at feeders closer to the house, the rest are at the bush. They are all eating.

3:28- One chickadee just rushed another, scaring it off.

3:29- There are about four chickadees. My dad just walked by, but the chickadees didn't care, suggesting that they are used to humans.

3:33- The chickadees continue to feed.

March 17, 2011

4:45 pm

My backyard

Today is sunny and warm. There are three chickadees. Thy are eating at the suet and black sunflower seed feeders. They are constantly making "chip chip chip" noises to each other, sometimes slow, but sometimes faster, like when they are scared or angry.

4:50- There are still three chickadees. I only see these chickadees, but I can her many more calling "chickadee!"

4:52- Two large gray squirrels are making their way over slowly to the feeders, as if scared by the birds.The chickadees are chirping angrily at them.

4:54- One chickadee just screamed "chipchipchip" (alarm call) and they all flew away.

4:55- Two chickadees have returned. One is at the suet feeder, the other is sitting in the cherry tree. The chickadee that was sitting in the tree just joined the other.

4:58- There are two chickadees still, and they are sitting in the bush. Many other birds (including a chicken) have joined them. The squirrels are gone.

5:00- The chickadees have flown away.

March 19. 2011

3:20 pm

My backyard

Today is warm and sunny. There are three chickadees, along with many other birds.

3:22- There are now two chickadees. The other appears to have flown away. One was just flying in when it seems that something startled it, making it do a flip in mid air and land in a small sapling. What scared it is unknown, perhaps one of my chickens.

3:26- There are now about four chickadees, all eating at different feeders, calling "chip, chip,"

3:28- They don't seem to like the feeders near the house; they take one seed and move on.Three chickadees have done that so far.

3:30- A large flock of cowbirds has just flown in, scaring some of my chickadees away. There is now only one.

3:33- There is still only one chickadee. A large raven just scared it away. It was flown into a tree.

3:35- All chickadees (and cowbirds) have left.

March 23, 2011

3:56 pm

My back yard

Today is cloudy with small flurries of snow. There are two chickadees. They are both in the bush, pecking at feeders and the bush's branches.

3:59- Two chickadees, out of what is now five, just flew together in a circle, raced after each other, and eventually landed in a tree. This is the courtship flight of the chickadee (all interpretations found in __National Geographic: Complete Birds of North America)__.

4:02- There are now six chickadees, all in the bush and at feeders. Two chickadees have ventured over to the feeders near the house.

4:04- They have flown back. There are two chickadees, both in the bush. They don't seem to go onto the ground very much, they seem like the type of bird that prefers the feeders to the ground.

4:07- There is one chickadee sitting in the bush, calling "chip chip."

4:09- There are two chickadees, both just sitting in the bush. Are they afraid? Or taking a break?

4:10- They are now flying to the feeders. I don't think they were scared after all.

4:14- There are no more chickadees. They have flown into the pine.

March 27, 2011

10:53 am

My backyard

Today is sunny and warm. There are two chickadees. They are sitting in the bush and at the feeders. One just flew into a tree.

10:55- There is one chickadee. It is sitting in the bush. It is pecking at the branches. Considering all of my chickens are surrounding the bush, it is probably too afraid to leave the bush.

10:58- There are now three chickadees. The wind has picked up, and the chickadees are having trouble staying in the bush without getting tossed around.

11:00- There are now two chickadees. The wind has died down, making it easier for them. No other animals are present.

11:03- There are three chickadees, and they and they all seem to be having trouble because of the wind.

11:05- There are two chickadees. They mostly stay in the bush, only occasionally flying to a feeder.

11:07- There are still two chickadees. One just flew away. The other is just sitting in the bush. Chickadees are very fast-paced, I've noticed; they don't stay in one place for long.

11:09- All chickadees have left due to wind.

March 27, 2011

3:15 pm

My backyard

It is still sunny, but now it's windy and cold. There are two chickadees right now, both in the bush. Now there are four.

3:17- There is only one chickadee now, calling "chickadee-dee-dee."

3:20- The chickadee is now chirping angrily at my chickens, not that they seem to care.

3:22- The chickens, bored, have left the bush.There is one chickadee.

3:25- The wind has picked up again, causing the chickadee to fly to a studier branch in the pine tree.

3:27- The wind has died down a little, and the chickadee has flown back to the bush, where it has begun to preen itself.

3:29- The lone chickadee is now eating at the black sunflower seed feeder. The wind is still blowing, but not as hard as before,

3:30- The chickadee has flown away.