Stoney Creek (Wintergreen) 3/6/15

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

In April 2011, I was told that there was a white and brown (leucistic) Carolina Chickadee up on the Wintergreen mountain resort (elevation about 3950 feet), and I was able to locate it, but only captured a few poor photos of it. I had tried a number of times to find this bird again since then, but had been unsuccessful.


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee, April 2011

A few days ago, a friend of mine who lives in the Stoney Creek section of Wintergreen, but high up on Crawford's Knob (about 2000 foot elevation), told me that a white Chickadee had been coming to her bird feeder. I sent her a link to my 2011 photo of the leucistic Carolina Chickadee, and she replied that it looked the same as the one coming to her feeder.

Heavy snow moved into the area, and I was resigned to watching birds at my feeder from a window, or was outside shoveling the white stuff.


American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin fighting over a feeder position

The sun came out today (March 6), and I asked Walt Childs if he wanted to go with me to look for the chickadee. When we got there, several species of birds were making trips to and from the feeder.


White-breasted Nuthatch and Dark-eyed Junco

My friend walked out to say hello, and a minute or so later, the leucistic Carolina Chickadee appeared, and it made several trips to and from the feeder while we were there. This bird seemed a bit more skittish than the other birds at the feeder. It certainly looks like the one I saw in 2011, but I don't know if it is the same bird or a different bird.


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee


Leucistic Carolina Chickadee



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