call

from Larry Meade on flickr

I was watching the 49er game last Sunday, and my friend Chris said that he had heard a bird on Thursday that one hears in the summer. I heard the same bird on Thursday as well. I have heard the same call during the winter the last three years. I thought it was a bird that had returned from the south. I understand from a woman at work that it's actually a black capped chickadee which is a bird that stays over the winter. What changes is the kind of call that's used. The usual call is a warning call while the newer call is a territorial or mating call in anticipation of spring. I heard another spring like call at work the other day. My co-worker said it sounded like a tufted titmouse.