Bird of the Day: A Mountain Chickadee at Lake Tahoe

It was only one quick picture. I was wandering down the trail to Chimney Beach on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, and I soon realized I was surrounded by small birds flitting among the branches. There were dozens of them, and I had trouble catching any of them standing still. There was a lot of motion up there. I got a few well-focused shots of the Nuthatches, Saturday's bird of the day. On my quick review of the picture files, I thought this shot was another Nuthatch, but on closer inspection it turned out to be a Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli). Upon reading about their habits, I learned that they often flock with other species in the conifer forests where they forage for food.

The Mountain Chickadees are found all over the mountainous regions of the Western United States. They eat seeds and insects, and are occasionally found at feeders (but not mine...).

Bird of the Day: White-breasted Nuthatch at Lake Tahoe

Once again, being a rank amateur has its benefits. I get to identify new birds all the time, and today was no exception. I was scouting out a trip I'm taking tomorrow to teach some geology at Lake Tahoe. We stopped at Chimney Beach on the east shore at Lake Tahoe State Park and I was wandering down the trail seemingly surrounded by birds, all of whom were darting quickly from one branch to another. I finally caught a few images of a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). The species is widespread across North America, but I've not seen them in my normal haunts yet.

According to my sources, the name comes from their practice of putting seeds or nuts into cracks in the bark of trees and pounding until they can get to the interior ("hatching" the seed).