Carolina Chickadee in Snowy Holly

In addition to spending time with family and friends, the traditions that bring joy and inspiration to my winter days include making home-made suet for my feathered friends and painting birds in watercolor!

The Carolina Chickadee has a distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call as it visits the suet and sunflower seed feeders with mixed flocks of titmice and Downy Woodpeckers.  They are year-round residents wherever they occur.  Tough little birds that survive through the harshest days of winter, they fluff their feathers with thousands of tiny muscles to trap air between feathers and provide insulation from the cold.  Some chickadee species also sleep in sheltered natural cavities and use regulated hypothermia to lower their body temperature and conserve energy.

Visit my blog post on Carolina Chickadee in Snowy Holly at Vickie's Sketchbook.
Click this link to learn more about the spritely Carolina Chickadee  from Cornell.