Tag: Backyard Birds

Chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina)

While I wait for the migratory warblers to appear in southwestern and northwestern New Jersey, I’m enjoying some of the spring birds in my backyard.

It was midday and the sun was shining. After feeding Sir Alphonso Mango, I heated a slice of pepperoni pizza. I poured a can of Coca-Cola, watching as it cascaded over a glass half-filled with glistening crushed ice. I sat outdoors, able to hear and see birds fluttering in the nearby trees.

I recorded a few minutes of bird calls on the Merlin app, which indicated that some of the birds were Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, and Chipping Sparrow. I could now add the Chipping Sparrow to my life list, but I wanted a photograph. I popped inside to grab my X-T3 and XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR.

As I bit into the salty fat of the pepperoni pizza, a Chipping Sparrow landed on a branch of the Sassafras tree near where I sat on the small deck. I balanced the familiar weight of the camera and lens in my hands, managing to get a photograph of the underbelly and the head, but I wanted something better.

My patience was rewarded at the end of my lunch break when a Chipping Sparrow landed on the dead tree stump next to the juniper. This time, I could see the earthy tones and subtle iridescence of its feathers.

Carolina Chickadee or Black-capped Chickadee?

Due to climate change, the range of the Black-capped Chickadee and Carolina Chickadee overlap.

I was uncertain about the identification of this bird, so I uploaded the image to ChatGPT, requesting identification.

Me: Please identify the bird in this photograph. Please describe the scene.
ChatGPT: This is a photograph of a Carolina Chickadee, identifiable by its black cap and bib, white cheeks, and soft grey back, wings, and tail. It is perched on a bare branch amidst a network of similar branches against a pale blue sky, likely in a deciduous woodland during the non-breeding season when trees are leafless.

For verification, I uploaded the same image to the Merlin ID app. Merlin also identified this bird as a Carolina Chickadee. However, after additional reading on All About Birds, I learned that this individual could be a Carolina or Black-capped Chickadee. They are very similar in colouring, and identification can be challenging. The calls of the Black-capped Chickadee are different from the Carolina Chickadee. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to use the Merlin app for an audio identification.

However, Merlin ID mentioned a 2014 study by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Villanova University, and Cornell University that indicates that the hybrid zone between Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees is shifting northward in alignment with rising winter temperatures.

This is the first time I have heard and photographed a Chickadee. I heard this individual's distinctive call when I was outside, about to leave on a short walk. The bird was in a tall tree in the small wooded area between two streets near my home. Despite the challenges of backlighting, I enhanced some of its features using Adobe Lightroom, drawing out the finer details that aided in its accurate identification.

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) · 30 December 2023 · FujiFilm X-T3 · XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR