MBP: Today we have a sequence of three pictures with a chickadee. The bird would grab a seed from the feeder, clasp the seed between its feet to hold it steady, then dig into it with its beak. Pretty clever!
I'm surprised the chickadee is eating the seed while perched on the feeder. I've always seen chickadees grab a seed and fly to a nearby branch to eat it.
Ornithologist <a href="http://lauraerickson.com/'>Laura Erickson</a> writes a lot about chickadees. She says that if there are several chickadees around a feeder, they'll take turns at it rather than competing for it. (Not like House Sparrows, which will drive other birds off the feeder.) If this was the only chickadee, maybe it didn't see any need to move out of the way.
This particular chickadee (assuming it's always the same one) is pretty fearless and stays on the feeder for extended periods of time. In fact, when I walk down to refill the tubes, this one is the last bird to flee, and I've had it come back to the feeder while I'm still standing there after they've been refilled. I almost wonder if I could train it to take seed from my hand.
You're right; all the other chickadees (and the titmouses/titmice or whatever the plural of titmouse is) grab a seed and immediately head off to the nearest bush or tree, then come back a minute or two later for another seed.
I figure this is what they all do with the seed once they're in that tree or bush...
In my observation, chickadees are pretty fearless in general. When I get a new feeder (after the squirrels manage to get to and destroy the old one, usually), the chickadees are the first birds to land on the strange new feeder. They will feed from your hand, if you're patient enough to stand there holding seed out long enough. I've been to a nature center where visitors are encouraged to bring birdseed during the winter, and all the chickadees quickly learn that people = food.
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You're right; all the other chickadees (and the titmouses/titmice or whatever the plural of titmouse is) grab a seed and immediately head off to the nearest bush or tree, then come back a minute or two later for another seed.
I figure this is what they all do with the seed once they're in that tree or bush...
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