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Cherubic Chickadees

Historydawg/flickr

Odds are good that a chickadee will visit your property this winter. Universally considered “cute,” the chubby little chickadee has an oversized round head, a short neck, a tiny body and a curiosity about everything, including humans. Its quickness in discovering bird feeders make it one of the first birds most of us learn.

More than likely, you probably know of the most widespread of North America’s seven species of chickadees, the black capped chickadee. But in nearly all of Maryland’s counties, you’re far more likely to see its cousin, the Carolina chickadee. This chickadee lives in the bottom half of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from southern Pennsylvania to Virginia, year round.  

 

W. Brooks Paternotte took the helm of Irvine Nature Center as executive director in July 2013 and immediately began building on the strong 35-year foundation. Brooks is a Baltimore native who was a teacher, coach, advisor, dean and Head of the Middle School during his 13 years at Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore. He is also an instructor and ambassador of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is a Leave No Trace Master, as well as an avid outdoorsman and a features writer for FlyLife Magazine.