Loyal Feathered Friends

..the most engaging and characteristic enlivener of our winter woods; who revels in snow and ice, and is never lacking in abundant measures of faith and cheerfulness, enough not only for himself, but for any chance wayfarer of our own kind.
- Bradford Torrey referring to the chickadee, 1889

‎Where would we be without the chickadee!  I know I seriously depend on them.  Looking out my patio door on a cold, snowy day and seeing them flitting back and forth between the branches and the feeders always makes me smile.  To say they are cheerful would be silly, I guess, since they don't have human emotions, but they sure project that attitude, don't they?   And I have noticed that they 'take turns' at the feeder, unlike some other birds who fight over the ports.  If the feeders are empty and I don't get out to fill them right away, they disappear.  But when I fill the feeders they appear again immediately, so I imagine they must just be waiting and watching.  Recently during a particularly nasty cold spell, they landed on the feeder and began feeding as I was filing it.  So I have to say the common chickadee wins hands down as my favorite bird at the feeder, even though it's not the most colorful or exotic.