Chickadee

I finally have a chickadee. They are supposed to be terribly common but I have never seen one in my yard until this past week. Part of the reason I've discovered is that they only visit backyard feeders in the winter. I didn't have the type of feeder they prefer until last spring. True to their description, the chickadee that visits my feeder is so tame I was able to get close enough to almost reach out and touch him. And I frequently hear his distinctive "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call. He is much too tiny to get a good picture of with my camera so here is a picture from enature.com :


If the appearance of a chickadee is a harbinger of winter, can the slate-colored juncos be far behind? It would also seem to be a little early for winter birds. I wonder if this is another sign of a bad winter to come?