Usually when I see black-capped chickadees they are impeccably well groomed, not a feather out of place. I saw this little fellow at the feeder today and I could not help buy wonder what circumstances so thoroughly ruffled his feathers. Other then the his shoddy appearance, he ate well and looked strong when he flew away. Click on the picture for a few more photos.
One of the downsides of my new all windowed addition is that I have had several bird strikes. Even with my limited hearing, when a bird flies into one of the windows the sound is unmistakable and I can almost always differentiate between a bird with a bad headache vs. a fatality. I have witnessed a few fatalities and I recall one situation where, when I went back to look for the bird all that was left were feathers. Enough feathers that I was certain the bird did not recover and fly away.
Today, I heard that unmistakable sound of a bird fatality and when I went to investigate, I found that I was not the first on the scene. A lone coyote had lost no time in retrieving what appears to be a bright yellow goldfinch and having a late afternoon snack.
This picture, and the others that are available on my Flickr site by just clicking on this picture were all taken through my windows, some before I thought to take the screen out, too. So while picture quality is not great, you can still see a very healthy coyote enjoying his prize.
Another first for Chatham Gardens, the first Dahlia. They are planted in containers that were built for my new deck and I suspect I have too many tubers in each container. But, there are lots of buds so a lot more flowers to be enjoyed in the next few weeks. This first one, though, will definitely have a special place in my memory.
I don't think that Chatham Gardens will ever be renamed Chatham Farms, but it was an exciting moment for me when I was on the upper patio and found that my newly planted high bush blueberry shrubs all had fruit ripening. I suspect that the birds will eliminate any need for me to carry a bucket up the hill to gather my bounty and I am glad to share the berries with my feathered friends - THIS YEAR. I see some netting in my future.....
