In the late spring to early summer the cute little Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) headed further north for their breeding season and I have missed their squeaky voices as they converge on the feeding station. They frequently show up in a flock that is mixed with tufted titmouse, too. About a month ago a few of them started arriving back in their wintering grounds. For a little while one or two would show up at the feeder every few days and slowly the numbers and the frequency have increased until now it’s rare to have a day without any. Even the days that our hurricanes came through, there were chickadees at the feeder. Although I think they are absolutely adorable and I love seeing them, I find them quite difficult to photograph. They rarely stay still for very long and their behavior is less predictable than some of the other birds like the cardinals. But every once in a while I either get lucky and capture one as it flits around or one actually perches for a few seconds like this one did. Either way, whenever I get a decent shot of one, I’m happy.