Black-capped Chickadee

RBG. Hendrie Valley, Burlington ON. December 1^st. 2020. Maybe twice a winter we get such an overnight snowfall, one that alights quietly without disturbing the equilibrium of the early hours. Snow that rests gently on each branch, twig and stem so that when daylight comes there are no adequate words to describe it.  I looked out this morning, shivered and my first reaction was, “Well I’m not going out in that!” But on second thoughts I pictured how sensational the valley would be while it lies so still. I dressed for a snow day, swept aside three inches of snow and went.

I was not the first to make tracks along the trails but it was so quiet the only sound was the faint hiss of snowflakes touching down. Birds of all the familiar species scattered ahead of me: Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated and American Tree Sparrows, Blue Jays, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches. They were picking for left-over hand-outs, plentiful along this very popular destination for families with baggies of bird seed (despite the objections of management).

Slipping and sliding along a very wet path I surprised a small flock of House Finches, was followed for a while by a Red–bellied Woodpecker and pleased by the steady approach of an adult Bald Eagle making its way down the valley’s length.  

Birds that most of the year get little attention because they seem to be just background noise suddenly became winter studies, this Black-capped Chickadee, for example, was one of many that looked as though it had been made for winter days. For that, chickadees were my Birds of the Day.

The face of the landscape we’d grown used to had changed overnight from stripped and careworn to apparently at ease. But tomorrow’s forecast for is slightly warmer airs so today’s taste of winter may end up as just a full-dress rehearsal.