The Black Capped Chickadee or Poecile carolinensis isn’t one of the most seen birds in my back yard, so when they do show up I always try and get a few pictures with my digital camera.

These neat little birds always show up in my yard in pairs and they love to eat from my hanging feeders. In the picture below you can see why they have the small slits close to the feeder opening. It allows birds to hold on so they can feed. It amazes me that they know to do this.

For such a small bird they sure do have quite a personality always singing Chick – a – dee – dee – dee -dee. They are easy to hear before they come to the feeder. Their black cap and bib make them easy to spot as they flutter from tree to tree before swooping into the feeder. In addition to seeds these little bird like to eat moths, caterpillars and many other insects.

You wouldn’t want to disturb these little guys while they are incubating their eggs. They will hiss and strike at you like a snake!

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker makes daily visits to my Hanging feeders and bird baths for a snack and a drink. The male visits more often than the female and either one is always a welcome visitor!

I currently have two hanging feeders, one is full of black oil sunflower seeds and the other one is filled with a wild bird seed mix. The Red-Bellied Woodpecker makes use of both of them but prefers the one filled with black oil sunflower seeds. The feeder that holds the black oil sunflower seeds is old and broken in many places but it holds sentimental value so it remains hanging and the birds don’t seem to mind it’s broken appearance.

He flew in and perched on a branch, eying the feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds. I was ready with my camera and snapped a quick picture. You can see a little bit of his red belly.

Then to my surprise he flew in to the hanging feeder and didn’t seem to mind that I was standing just a few feet away. Once again I was poised and ready with my camera. This time he shows off his red belly!