Mountain Chickadee hanging on a Douglas Fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahMountain Chickadee hanging on a Douglas Fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Two mornings ago a small flock of Mountain Chickadees came in to forage on the seeds in some Douglas Fir trees and I had fun trying to keep up with the small dynamos. Since there were several chickadees foraging, feeding, flying in and out it was often difficult to pick which of them to focus on.

Mountain Chickadee checking out a fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahMountain Chickadee checking out a fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Sometimes I picked the closest chickadee to photograph simply because they were there. Some times I picked one where I could see slivers of blue sky behind the trees.

Mountain Chickadee hanging onto a juniper with a seed in its bill, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahMountain Chickadee hanging onto a juniper with a seed in its bill – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Or I tracked where they flew to and in this case it was a nearby juniper that the Mountain Chickadee hung onto while it ate the seed of the fir.

Foraging Mountain Chickadee hanging on a fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahForaging Mountain Chickadee hanging on a fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Mostly though, I photographed the chickadees I could get in my viewfinder quickly enough to lock focus on them before they flew to another branch or tree.

Adult Mountain Chickadee looking for seeds in a fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahAdult Mountain Chickadee looking for seeds in a fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I took hundreds of photos that are going to end up in my delete bin because the birds were turned away from me, weren’t quite in focus or didn’t have a catch light in the eyes of the chickadees but I did get a few jewels.

Mountain Chickadee eating a seed, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahMountain Chickadee eating a seed – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Some of the jewels showed the Mountain Chickadees eating the seeds that they were so actively foraging for.

Adult Mountain Chickadee hanging onto a fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahAdult Mountain Chickadee hanging onto a fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

While others showed the chickadees looking towards me as if they were checking me out to see if I presented any danger to them as they moved around the fir trees looking for seeds to eat.

Mountain Chickadee grasping a Douglas Fir cone, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, UtahMountain Chickadee grasping a Douglas Fir cone – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

All of these images show the Mountain Chickadees doing what they naturally do in the wild and while I find them amusing at times as I observe and photograph them, they are simply but seriously going about their lives.

Me? I’m just happy to be a part of their lives for a few moments in time.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Mountain Chickadee photos plus facts and information about this species.