Janet and a tiny friend

This photo was taken yesterday morning, 20 January 2018, when I went on a walk in Carburn Park with birding friends. I always find that a walk along the Bow River gives very few photo opportunities, as the birds are too far away for photos, but it is a lovely park in which to spend time. They are also too far away for me to ID them, as I don't use binoculars.

The always loyal Black-capped Chickadees flew in to see if anyone had any food. They were in luck, as this park, unlike Fish Creek Park, does not forbid the feeding of birds. Friend, Janet, was ready waiting, with a few seeds and nuts in her hand.

As you can see, the sun was shining and actually it wasn't cold. Always good to spend time in great company, including going for coffee/lunch afterwards at the local Tim Horton's. Many thanks, Howard, for leading the group!

"The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id

"The chickadee's unerring spatial memory is remarkable enough, says Colin Saldanha, assistant professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University and an anatomist who has studied songbirds for six years.

But it is what happens inside the tiny songbird's brain that Saldanha finds amazing. In the fall, as the chickadee is gathering and storing seeds, Saldanha says, its hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial organization and memory in many vertebrates, expands in volume by approximately 30 percent by adding new nerve cells. In songbirds, the hippocampus is located on the dorsal surface of the forebrain right beneath the skull. In mammals, the hippocampus is located beneath the cortex.

In the spring, when its feats of memory are needed less, the chickadee's hippocampus shrinks back to its normal size, Saldanha says." From article on ScienceDaily.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030912072156.htm