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Similar to other species of chickadees, Mountain Chickadees are black and white on the head, gray and brown on the back, and white below. The white stripe over the eye identifies Mountain Chickadees from all other chickadees. Mountain Chickadees flit through high branches and hang upside down to pluck insects or seeds from cones and, in winter, flock with kinglets, nuthatches, and other small birds. Mountain Chickadees continuously give their chick-a-dee, chick-a- dee-dee-dee contact call, and their song is a whistled fee-bee. Mountain Chickadees range throughout the West, from Alberta to the Mexican border. The only other chickadee in the West is the Black-capped Chickadee, which is the classic American chickadee of the northeastern U.S. and ranges west to Washington state and Oregon. Where the two species overlap in the Pacific Northwest, the Black-capped occurs in broad-leaved trees and riparian areas, while the Mountain Chickadee sticks to the evergreens and higher elevations. Mountain Chickadees do not migrate, but they do move to lower elevations in small numbers in the winter. Thus, the two Mountain Chickadees observed near the Lodge on Sept. 9 constitute the only observation of this species by the Four Seasons Birding Club to date. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB The Four Seasons Birding Club welcomes beginning and experienced birders to start or hone bird identification skills. Our main activity is a monthly bird walk along Four Seasons' beautiful nature trails, which follow native riparian woodlands. We also take field trips to local birding hot spots, discuss backyard bird feeding, and share information on unusual species and behaviors. We have two bird walks to report. On the Sept. 9 bird walk, our small group identified two Mountain Chickadees (our Bird of the Month) along the nature trail by the Lodge and a California Thrasher (pictured) seen from Four Seasons in chaparral just outside Four Seasons. Both species are new for our Four Seasons bird list. Our Oct. 7 bird walk produced late migrants and newly arrived wintering birds, which combined to yield 18 species, tying our record high bird count established in June. Highlights included two migrants — Western Wood-pewee (a type of flycatcher that summers in our mountains and winters in the tropics) and Black- throated Gray Warbler — both new for our Four Seasons bird list, which now numbers 61. We meet on the first Saturday of each month at 8 am in the Lodge RCN Lobby, talk about birding, then we go on our bird walk directly from the Lodge. Bring your binoculars or just come to a meeting and ask about birding gear. For more information and to receive club communications, email Steve Edelman at steve.h.edelman@gmail.com. ~ Steve Edelman Bird of the Month FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2017 65 The California Thrasher Photo by Rick and Nora Bowers/VIREO Mountain Chickadee; Photo by E.J. Peiker