Update: Chickadee Feeding

Some of you might remember my First Day post where I asked whether the feeding behavior was that of parent to fledgling or mating behavior that I read about online.

Pamela Llewellyn of the Golden Gate Audubon Society took a look at the post and had this to say.

You have multiple photos of fledgling chickadees. These individuals can be identified by their bright yellow "gape" - you can look up that word in any bird book but it is essentially the flesh along the sides of their beak. This is a visual aid and stimulus for the parents to help in the feeding process - both of whom are bringing back food (protein such as worms etc.) to the young.

The buzzing sound and the fluttering of the wings are both fledgling behavior. Fledglings in general make really crazy call sounds.

During the courtship phase of breeding season the female will (also) use the fluttering wing behavior to solicit mating from the male.

Feel free to share this information with your blog friends.

Thanks! I will!

Mystery solved.