Last Sunday a friend invited me to (bird) a short stretch of one of the lower tributaries of the Clackamas River.  It was quiet for most of the morning except for a 15-20 minute period right along the creek where we encountered a small but significant flock of Chestnut-back Chickadee engaged in playful chase.  We also noted a large number of Golden-Crowned Kinglets, a few Steller's Jay, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks copulating on a perch high atop a fir tree, a 30-foot-tree fallen by beaver with fresh teeth marks along the trunk suggesting the recent harvest fresh of bark, and an old wasp's nest set in a hollowed out fork of a tree which we first thought was the roost-cavity of a small owl.

The appearance of multiple Chestnut-backed Chickadee was a first for me.  It was great to be able to observe interactions with one another rather than watch a single bird among in mixed flock of other passerines.

Thankfully the indirect-sunlight seemed to cooperate with the birds at the right time in this deep ravine to allow for a few great looks at this colorful Chickadee. I believe the third image is apropos of its namesake.    

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If you use your imagination, as we were at the time, and look closely at the image below you will see what we thought was the faint outline of the beak of an owl in the back of the cavity.