March 2023 - 47
I provided it for her. Bad attitude forgotten
entirely, as were sore shoulders, hips and feet.
It was as if the chickadee was both therapist
and hunting guide.
Chickadees live a long time for a little
bird, a decade or even more. I do not know
if the same birds zip around our feeder year
after year, but I do know sometimes in deep
winter they are the only birds about. They
seem to tolerate other birds without anger or
aggressiveness. A magpie will defend a feed
tirelessly, but a chickadee will merely flutter
off, bounce on a twig and go find another
meal. They eat more than three-quarters of
their fare away from the feeder anyway, tiny
insects from cracks in trees, native seeds and
scraps.
They are cavity nesters, and a friend of
mine told me a story about a starling taking
over a nest from a pair of chickadees by throwing
out the hatchlings and driving off the
parents. The story infuriated me and I offered
to come over to his house and eliminate the
thieves. Every spring when they return, I try
to control the starling population with my
shotgun, all the while thinking about the
happy chickadee pair that kept us company
through the long winters while the weeds of
the sky known as starlings were off to the
south enjoying a sunny, warm winter.
There is little I won't do for a comrade of
a relentless March, a fellow survivor happily
keeping winter's doldrums away.
- Tom Reed and his family live on a small ranch where
they raise horses, kids and resident chickadees. He is
the author of several books, most recently the second
edition of " Blue Lines, A Fishing Life, " Cornmill Press,
2022.
- Lori Eslick is an illustrator, artist, presenter, children's
picture book illustrator and workshop leader. She
regularly creates illustrations for Wyoming Wildlife
magazine's Wild Country Dispatch column. More of
her work can be seen at eslickart.com.
Wyoming Wildlife | 47
http://www.eslickart.com
March 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023
March 2023 - 1
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