Seeds from Sweetgum tree seedpods provided much-needed nourishment for some of the small birds in my area, like this Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) that I spotted on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The chickadee’s acrobatic position reminds me a little of that of a hovering hummingbird. Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the chickadee is not levitating—its legs are merely hidden behind its body.
It is pretty amazing that the chickadee can hang with its full body weight from the seed pod and extract seeds without causing the pod to fall from the tree. The delicate touch required reminds me of playing the classic game Operation when I was a child. The game requires you to remove various body parts from a patient using a pair of electric tweezers that buzz if you touch the edges of the cavity opening. (Check out this Wikipedia article if you are not familiar with the Operation game, which amazingly is still in production.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Wow. Love it’s smoky grey colours.
its smoky (not it’s)!!!
That’s a fetching photo of a chickadee fetching seeds. I often watch our goldfinches hanging on the crape myrtles the same way, picking seeds out of those pods.
Thanks. So far I have seen chickadees, goldfinches, and house finches picking seeds out of these photogenic sweetgum seedpods.
It does look like he’s defying gravity.
The chickadee did a good job of hiding its legs. I would think it would be quite a balancing challenge to hold on and then turn and reach for the seeds without upsetting your grip.
Great capture of the Chickadee, and perfect analogy to “Operation.” My older sister got that one year for Christmas, and I remember being much more enamored with it than she was.
We’ve seen quite a bit of this action on these pods recently. It looks like a lot of work so the seeds must be really tasty/nutritious.
Thanks, Ellen. What I find interesting is that the birds always seem to be pecking away at the pods still on the trees and not those that are on the ground. I am glad to see I am not the only one who remembers Operation. 🙂
I’ve noticed the same thing, and wonder if these tiny birds can’t hold the pod after it falls. :-).
Very Nice Mike! Yes, I am surprised the Sweetgum held the weight of the chickadee! In our community they are all over the ground in huge areas under the Sweetgum trees! I think they must have gotten the Sweetgum trees at a great price since they are all over my community!
Thanks, Reed. I don’t think that I have never seen any of the Sweetgum trees in residential areas where I live, thought there are lots of them on the wildlife refuge that I love to visit. As for the weight of the chickadee, they only weigh 0.3-0.4 oz (8-12 g), so the stems don’t have to be all that strong to support them.
I hear them singing each time I step outside the door. There are two sweet gum trees next door. I will have to watch for them there! Thanks 🙂
I’ve managed to see chickadees, goldfinches, and house finches pecking on the gum tree “gumballs,” so keep your eyes open, Molly.
[…] Fellow blogger Mike Powell has captured similar scenes in Virginia where there is overlap in both the tree and the bird, including his post Acrobatic Chickadee […]