Hot dog, he’s back! Why am I so excited? Aren’t chickadees common in the Chicago area? Yes. But my chickadee has been missing for nearly three years!
Chickadees use to visit my feeder on a regular basis. Then all of a sudden…poof…gone. I had no idea why. Perhaps my regular visitor died and it took a long time for another to find its way? Chickadees sometimes follow downy woodpeckers and sure enough, along came two chickadees with a male and a female downy woodpecker to pleasantly surprise me.
So happy I was to see these little balls of energy bounce back and forth from the feeder to the pine tree. Very vocal they were too!
I appreciated the visit so much that I decided to enter them in my sketchbook.
This quick sketch only took about 10 minutes, but for a lifetime I will remember my friends came back.
Let's Paint Nature! 
Aw, you’re such a talent 🙂
That’s odd that they disappeared for 3 years. Wonder where they went!? Maybe they were incarcerated … do birds have prison systems? LOL Maybe that’s where we get the term ‘jail bird’ from.
Okay … I need more coffee. 🙂
Nice sketch. Glad your chickadee returned. Do you have a sunflower seed feeder? They seem to like those seeds the best.
Drowsey: Jail birds!!! LOL! Bad little birdie, bad! You crack me up. I never would have thought of it! 😀
Joan: Thank you! I do not have a sunflower feeder but I think that’s a super idea! One can never have too many feeders.
Congratulations! I recently spotted a couple of brown headed nuthatches pecking for a nest hole in a pine along my driveway. We hadn’t seen ANY since Hurricane Gustav came through. I appreciate your happiness. 🙂 Nice sketch, too!
Love how your sketch with its fluid curving lines captures both the cheerful perky spirit of your Chickadee friend and your enthusiasm at seeing your favorite winged visitor back.
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.