A Cycle of Dedication

Less than a quarter of a mile from the Shenandoah River, a male chickadee lands on a branch in a maple tree and sings even though there is a bug held between his beak.

“Chick-a-dee-dee,” the bird calls, sounding with several pure-toned notes, following with several broader and harsher sounds of a more complex overtone pattern.

He looks toward a small hole in the maple tree – a tree that rises through the boards of a deck attached to a cabin in Page County, Virginia.

Launching himself in the air, his talons grip the trunk of the tree. The small song bird sticks his head inside the hole, feeding the unseen young within.

Launching from the tree trunk, he returns to the previous branch where his song again fills the air before he repositions the remains of the bug in his mouth.

Returning to cavity that serves as the nest, his head again disappears from view as he gives the last of the food to the young.

When finished, he launches again into the air. His wings blur as they carry him back into the forest to search for more food.

Seconds after his departure, mother chickadee flutters into view.

After landing on a branch and quickly looking around, she dives for the hole and quickly disappears inside where she remains for a good twenty seconds.

Finally, her head appears through the hole to again glimpse the outside world.

Squeezing through quickly, her wings blur as she heads straight for the surrounding forest.

Within thirty seconds, her mate arrives with what looks like a small berry in his beak.

From sunrise to sunset, the pair seems to dance around each other.

As one comes, the other goes.

It is a pattern repeated time and again as the dedicated parents work as a team feeding and carrying for their young from sunrise to sunset.

He never enters the cavity that is the nest, always feeding while still perched outside.

She always enters the cavity, joining their young as she sees to their needs.

But regardless of their differences, both remain equal in dedication and care.

--- Mike Tripp, photojournalist

-----------------------------------
Originally published Saturday, May 5, 2007, at FourWindsLodge.net.