Chestnut-Backed Chickadees

California has a few signs of fall. Some leaves fall, some leaves change color.

The lighting outside has been beautiful lately. I was really excited about capturing this old wasp nest.

Wherever there are big trees, there are chickadees. We have several types of chickadees. There are Black-Capped Chickadees like this guy:

But my favorite is the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee. They're incredibly small (4 1/2 inches) and fast. For awhile, my pictures all looked like this:

But eventually I succeeded!

If you stare at a tree long enough, you'll see them. They love to eat.

And hang upside down.

It's hardest to get pictures of their front. If you can, though, it's worth it. They have very fuzzy fronts.

As you can see from comparing the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee with the Black-Capped Chickadee, the faces look identical. The Chestnut-Backed Chickadee has a lot of brown on his back. The Black-Capped has merely a hint of brown on his front.

I know I say this practically every week, but these birds are one of my favorites.