A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident 

Until recently the dogs and I have been taking our morning constitutional in darkness. Last week was the first time the dawn greeted us. While the darkness was exquisitely quiet, the dawn brought a simple sound, “fee-bee.” For several minutes the bird had the entire forest as an audience for a solo. 

Then a different, more complex song joined in, and another and another. Soon the “fee-bee” was submerged by the pleasant cacophony of bird breakfast. The “fee-bee” singer was the early bird. In January he might not have gotten the worm, but perhaps the prime seat at the feeder. 

After our walk I searched for what bird sang “fee-bee.” This was as difficult as finding out which band did “Yesterday.” It is the simplest song of the Black Capped Chickadee, one of the most friendly and common of birds in our part of the forest. 

They are unafraid of humans and are among the most frequent visitors to bird feeders. Even I was able to get a photograph of a couple of them. They don’t migrate but lower their body temperatures to make our winters tolerable. They may not eat all the seeds they take from feeders, as they store food like squirrels and have a similarly excellent memory at finding what they hide. They often become the residents of holes created by pileated woodpeckers and also enjoy birdhouses. 

“Fee-bee” is the Black Capped Chickadee equivalent of doing scales. They have thirteen different calls. They cover a wide area and are often out of sight of each other, so they need a variety of calls to communicate. There is a danger call of “chick-a-dee-dee.” The more “dees” the greater the danger. The more complex calls are mating calls. The males have singing contests to decide dominance and mating rights. Chickadees raise or lower the pitch of their calls so as not to blend with ambient sounds. 

The Black Capped Chickadee shows that it is possible to be cute but formidable, friendly but not vulnerable, able to sing many welcoming tunes while also knowing when to sound an alarm.