Boreal Chickadee

On Wednesday March 10th I was birding the large bog and surrounding area around Battleground State Forest east of Leech Lake.  It was a foggy warm late winter day - typical for this part of the country.  The birding had already been productive (Northern Shrike, game farm Ring-necked Pheasant, and most the usual suspects)  when I pulled to a stop next to a large stand of conifers that has historically produced both species of crossbills and several other boreal specialties.

For some reason the mixed stand of spuce, pine and tamarack seemed like a good place to play for Boreal Chickadee.  It should be noted - I have NEVER seen a Boreal Chickadee in Cass County and my friends at the Deep Portage Bird Observatory have only reported the bird twice.  I should also mention, in general, I don't use audio recordings to aid in my birding.  However, after several weeks of extraordinarily slow birding I decided to break out the iPod.  I selected the Boreal Chickadee track from the Stokes Album and laid down my own whistled version of an Eastern Screech Owl over top.

Instantly I was overtaken by curious, alert, and alarmed birds.  Several Black-capped Chickadees came perilously close to perching on my head, while Red-breasted Nuthatches chattered with much enthusiasm, and Purple Finches whistled an announcement of their presence.  I had barely started to enjoy the commotion when a small oddly colored bird caught my eye. It skulked toward me moving quickly from branch to branch amongst a thick cluster of spruce.  It then took flight across the road and my heart fluttered as I instantly made the ID.

Without thinking about such trivialities as exposure compensation, ISO, or even aperture I grabbed my camera from inside my car and hurriedly took as many shots as I could.

Unfortunately, this is probably the best shot I took.  While this photo isn't going to win any awards, I was excited when I first inspected the image on my computer.  In the field I hadn't noticed the white tail feathers and outer primaries.  Full disclosure - My first reaction to this picture was "Oh *$%#!" I had already posted the sighting to the MOU Listserv and now I had to research the possibility that it was a Leucistic Black-capped Chickadee.

My research and a photo clearly showing a gray auricular on the bird quickly allayed my fears.  But what about those white feathers.  I can't find much on the internets. Maybe it is just a common trait in a bird I have little experience with.