Bathing Chickadees

On Tuesday 10 January 2012, Erika and I strolled through the Carleton College Arboretum in Dakota County,  Temperatures were record-breaking, in the low-50 degrees F. We have suffered through a snowless winter, and the forest floor was exposed. The trails were basically dry, except for a bit of ice under a shady pine forest. The ice was melting, with pools of water in depressions and along side of the ice.

We found a flock of six Black-capped Chickadees bathing in the water. The birds flew back and forth between the pools and bushes along side the trail. Open water must be a rare, January delight for these winter residents. As we returned from our outing, we came upon the same chickadee flock, still hard at work at their bath. Now the chickadees were joined by a few juncos, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, several White-breasted Nuthatches, and even a Brown Creeper.