About 10:30 this morning, I saw a Boreal Chickadee feeding in a large spruce across the spine road from the entrance to Peninsula B on the Leslie Street Spit. The bird was with a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees. I watched it through binoculars for about thirty seconds. The first thing that impressed me were the rich reddish-brown flanks, and then the plain grey wings with no white, and then the relatively small white cheek patch. The cap or crown was darker than the nape but not black, more like a greyish brown. I'm not sure if it was a factor of the richer plumage, but the bird struck me as being slightly larger, bulkier, than the Black-caps around it. The flock was moving through fairly quickly and hopping about and flying back and forth and unfortunately I couldn't get a photo before they all disappeared. I went back about an hour later but no dice.
The spruce tree the bird was feeding in is the largest spruce in the conglomeration of evergreens across the road from the path that leads to Peninsula B. There's often a flock of chickadees in this area, and they're usually quite vocal. It's probably a needle-in-a-haystack sort of venture to try and find the bird again. Not sure I'd make a special trip, but I'd certainly keep an eye open if I happened to be in the area.
