Chickadees, Blackpoll Warblers, and Black-and-white Warblers
You know how you can go along for years – totally oblivious to something? Well, I had a moment of realization this past week. I was working outside in the front of our house, glanced up at the big hickory tree you can see on the bird bath livestream, saw a small, agile black and white bird all over one of the branches, immediately thought Black-capped Chickadee, and continued what I was doing. Then stopped abruptly. Instinctively, I knew something was just not right about that – something looked a bit odd for a chickadee? So I looked again.
We always have at least one pair of resident chickadees, but they are never in the front yard. They are always in the back yard and often use the feeders. Even though it was just a fleeting glance that I gave this small black and white bird in the hickory tree, something was not right about the white cheek patch. So, I looked again and this is the first time I realized that at a quick glance, the Black-capped Chickadee resembles two warblers that are black and white. And that all this time, when I saw a glimpse of a small, agile, black and white bird in our trees, I was just automatically assuming ‘chickadee’ because we always have chickadees.
We also have warblers – especially in migration – but these birds are often higher up in the trees and are most often various shades of olive green and yellow. Black and white and small in our yard always triggers ‘chickadee’ for me. But this time, I stopped what I was doing, stood perfectly still, and stared at the bird who was still in the hickory tree and at about my eye level. This was no Black-capped Chickadee – it was a Blackpoll Warbler.
Later, when I was sitting on our deck with a cup of hot coffee, watching the slow movement of water on the lake, and watching the clouds drift by, it also occurred to me there is a second small black and white bird that at first glance could be mistaken for a chickadee – the Black-and-white Warbler. We always have some migrate through here in spring. And I had to wonder – how many times have I done that? And not just with these three birds in our yard – always assuming a small, agile, black and white bird is a ‘just’ a chickadee? Have I done it with other birds that look a bit alike? Assume it is the species I see just about every day so dismiss it? And of course, that leads to wondering about other aspects of life? Do I make wrong assumptions – fast judgements – each and every day? Thinking I know something and I do not? Sadly, my guess is probably so. But at least now I am more aware of this tendency of mine which I think is shared by a lot of people. I will try to keep this Blackpoll Warbler in the front of my mind – remembering how I misjudged it. Did not acknowledge it. Assumed it was something it was not. And simply dismissed it.
P.S. I just added another wonderful and thought-provoking essay to this website. Here is the link: Rebuilding the Ark by Carol ………. Pennsylvania Keeping this essay in mind, I have added one of my favorite shrubs – American Cranberrybush Viburnum – to the landscaping and gardening section of my website. If you have enough room, this is a wonderful shrub! Here is the link: American Cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum).