A fluffy oriole and an irritated chickadee

I was delighted when this colorful little bird flew in front of me, landed on the railing of the sledding hills steps, and posed very nicely. I think it is a young Baltimore oriole. The adult male orioles have black heads and darker orange feathers on their breast, so if it's an oriole, it must be a young one. If anyone knows a better ID, please let me know.

It didn't rain today. That is the big news, but I don't think the temperature got much above 60 degrees except when the sun came out briefly (very briefly) in the late afternoon. The morning was kind of gloomy, but it was a good afternoon for a walk in the park, and this little bird was the "icing on top of the cake," as the expression goes.

One funny thing happened while I was in the park. Because I had again forgotten to take my little black bag of peanuts with me, I had a confrontation with an irritated chickadee. By now, I should know better than to forget my peanut bag because the birds are always disappointed when that happens. First a bright red cardinal started flying in circles around me. It would land on the tree in front of where I was standing in conversation with another photographer, prance around from branch to branch, then swoop off in a circle and return to the branch. He obviously was expecting a handout, and I had nothing to give him.

A short distance down the trail, I stopped again to talk to another walker, and a chickadee flew up and landed on the end of my lens. From there he flew to a tree branch above me. I held out my palm, empty because I had no peanuts to share, and he landed on my fingertips where he sat and looked at the empty hand. No peanuts were forthcoming, so he flew away, but not until he took his sharp little beak and nipped me sharply on the end of my thumb. I could almost imagine him saying, "Next time don't forget the peanuts!" I think I will put an emergency peanut bag in the car just in case I forget again.