As we approach winter, birds in the wild have to work hard to find food. Yesterday I photographed this tiny Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my local wildlife refuge as it worked to extract seeds from the spiky seed pods of a sweetgum tree.
Now that most of the insects are gone for the season, I have switched lenses on my camera. Although I usually have some additional lenses in my backpack when I am on my little photography expeditions, I generally tend to stick with the lens that is on my camera, During warmer months that tends to be a Tamron 18-400mm lens that has the flexibility to get wide angle shots in addition to close-up shots of insects, particularly dragonflies.
During the cold months, I use my Tamron 150-600mm lens, a longer telephoto zoom lens that gives me greater reach. This lens is quite heavy to hold for extended periods of time, so I normally use it with a monopod, as I was doing yesterday, to give me greater stability and hopefully sharper photos.
I am always amazed when I see chickadees hanging from these spiky seed balls. I realize that these birds don’t weigh much, but it’s hard to believe that they can hang from the same seed pod that they are working on.
I was thrilled to be able to capture this cool image of the chickadee in action, with the colorful foliage in the background giving it a real autumn vibe.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice!
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Really wonderful photo, Michael. You captured the marvel of the chickadee and the beauty of autumn.
Thanks so much, Jet. I am turning my attention now to birds and am able to actually see them with the leaves mostly gone from the trees. I have seen a few eagles already, but am equally content to spot the busy little birds, like this chickadee.
Gorgeous photo, really special!
Wow! This is a stunning photograph, Mike! It’s a beautiful portrait of the delicate wee bird and I like the way the spiky texture of the seed ball contrasts with the fluffy belly feathers. The colours are also really striking with those rusty colours really being accentuated by the bright blue. Gorgeous shot.
WOW! Superb photo capture!
Very nice shot. Glad to have come across your blog. Great work, looking forward to more.
Cool image indeed. (Suzanne)
very beautifull 👍
Excellent Chickadee capture, Mike! They sure are amazing to watch, acrobatics and getting lunch.