Big Year Week 5

January 29 - February 4

The relentless winter of 2014 continued this week as the only new life form to show up was this Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus).  A small bird with cuddly name and an attitude, I'm reminded of Kenn Kaufman's poem from the Midwestern Birding Symposium a few years back:

"He loves to crush the hapless worm,
and mangle spiders with his bill.
He loves to watch his victims squirm,
The Chickadee was born to kill.

He wears a mask down to his eye,
Befitting Lord of Guillotine.
Beheading bugs to watch them die,
The Chickadee is bad and mean.

His song, which seems so innocent,
As simply sweet as Mother Goose
Is really filled with ill-intent,
Profanity and foul abuse

Black of heart and black of cap
An evil bird of iron will
Rejecting all that cutesy stuff,
The Chickadee was born to kill."

- Kenn Kaufman

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Running total after week 5:

Birds:  16
Mammals:  1