By Sally Siko
A little while back, the shutter button on my Canon 5Ds camera stopped working.
I ended up putting the 5Ds away for a season and switched to using my Canon R5 as my primary body.
While I absolutely adore the R5 and its astonishing auto focusing abilities I realized that I truly missed shooting with the 5Ds.
Last week I finally got the 5Ds repaired and I’m pleased today to share this image of a cute little Carolina Chickadee which I photographed with that camera while leading a birding tour in eastern NC.
I love that we can see the tiny details of his feathery features as well as those of the 2 inchworms he’s got in his beak.
I can’t wait to get out there in the field with this camera going forward.
For now though, this Carolina Chickadee encounter was a great first reunion for me and the 5Ds.
Wooohoo!
Found in all 100 of our counties, Carolina Chickadees are a year round resident of North Carolina. In fact, they are a familiar sight to many folks in the southern United States with a range extending from Oklahoma east to New Jersey down south to Florida.
These guys are a common backyard bird for most in its range as they are frequent visitors to our feeders as well.
Carolina Chickadees are cavity nesters and with the breeding season underway, pairs of these sweet little birds are busy prepping for the little ones to come.
They do not bore out their own holes, rather they take over unused nesting cavities made by woodpeckers or in natural holes in rotting trees.
The female builds the nest base with moss and sometimes strips of bark plus adding a thick lining of hair and/or plant fibers too to add warmth and a level of softness for her chicks.
She will lay one egg every day, eventually reaching a clutch size of 3–10 eggs which will be incubated for 12–15 days.
Soon they’ll be a whole bunch of fluffy little Chickadee fledglings hopping around which is definitely something to look forward to in a couple weeks.
Btw, I’ve got a ton of fun group birding trips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine and New Jersey open for booking from now through December.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty 50 megapixel monster, the @canonusa #5Ds