For a smile as wide as a country sunrise


Hi everyone and welcome back to our bird series! Today we have a bird not seen very often, the Boreal chickadee. A cousin of our black-capped chickadee but this one hides itself more in the deep Boreal forest right across the Boreal region of Canada, a few northern areas of northern states and into Alaska. These chickadees are brown instead of black and gray like the others and basically they say “chick-dee” in kind of a hoarse voice rather than saying their whole name like the others. These pics are from years ago before I really got into photography and are not very good quality, but I have not seen one in the last 3 years though there is some good habitat for them down towards the river. They are a beautiful chickadee and will come to feeders if you live in a wooded area with lots of spruce trees. It took me quite awhile to convince the more expert birders that I even had them coming to feeders so I just had to get pics to prove it, plus I even had them come to my hand for food. They ate fat and suet, but never ate sunflower seeds or other seeds like the black-capped chickadees. They also loved bread crumbs, but it had to be white bread, they wouldn’t eat any other kind.

I do hope you have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Hi to all my friends out there! All of you my friends! It been long time since I was here, my human be good lately and not do much funny stuff. Kind of boring really. But I keep track so now have things to share. Other day he go for walk and he say it slippery on hills. I ask him why he walk on hills, he say there no choice. I guess that right. Anyway, in one spot he go sliding and legs go straight out in front and he sit down on path and start sliding down hill and right off path into snow. But snow not deep there, it place closer to river. I ask him how close to river. He say it safe distance. Sometimes I wonder if he tell me whole story. But it would have been fun to watch, just imagine the look on his face when legs go ahead of him and he sit down! He need to be more careful, might break camera, not want to do that.

Other day he open can of soup and pour into pot, then he hit pot handle and pot go flying and so does soup. He have mad scramble to catch pot, but too late, soup everywhere. He stand looking at himself and doing human purring. Then he go change clothes. When he come back he step in soup on floor. He just stand there looking. And pull hair. The he go change socks. He does that a lot, should just go barefoot like me. He come back and clean up mess. After he clean floor he stand up and hit head on counter. He do human purring again, always sound so nice. Other day after melting day it frozen day so walkway all ice. My human go walking to check for mail. He start sliding on ice, I watching through window. He waving really fast at me, so I wave back. Now his eyes really open wide, same with mouth, I hear go AAAAAAAA! Now arms go in big circles and he leaning backward, plus he only on one foot now!

Oh my, I laughing so much! Then I look out again and he lying on tummy. How he do that? He leaning backward, should have landed on back, but he land on tummy, that mean he fall opposite way. Too bad I miss that part, would like to see how he do that. Good thing he do that though, his tummy nice and soft, so he not get hurt. He come in holding back. How he hurt back when landing on tummy? So strange. Oh my, there still more yet, but it time to stop, I have to go help my human. He lie down, when he do that I help him by jumping on tummy like kangaroo. He really enjoy that when he have sore back, his eyes open real wide, he pull hair and do human purring, so I know he like it. I using some of my human’s pictures today, just have to remember how to put them in. Oh, now I remember. Bye everyone, see you again soon!
Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.