Chickadees of the north woods

Wildlife Manager

Most people know a chickadee when they see one. This ubiquitous and charming year-round resident is an accommodating visitor to bird feeders and can generally been seen or heard on an everyday outing.

When we see a chickadee in and around the developed areas of Koochiching County it is generally a black-capped chickadee. This small handsome bird has a close relative that also lives in north east Minnesota, the boreal chickadee. The boreal chickadee appears much like a black-capped chickadee that has fallen in a dust pan; they have a dusty brown cap and less white on their faces when compared to the black-capped. In addition to a different appearance and the preference for conifer forests by the boreal chickadee, the boreal chickadees have a nasal tone to their call and are generally found around spruce stands. In addition to the boreal and black capped chickadees several other species inhabit the United States including the bridled chickadee, mountain chickadee, Carolina chickadee, and chestnut-backed chickadee.

If you have ever paid much attention to the vocalizations of a flock of black-capped chickadees you may have noticed the complex variation in calls and songs that they use. It is believed that chickadees communicate a wide range of information through vocalizations including coordinating flock movements, presence of predators and the level of threat posed by a particular type of predator. Recent research indicates that the more dee’s in the chick-a-dee-dee call may indicate a more dangerous predator in addition to a shorter duration between the chick and dee.

These complex vocalizations may be an evolutionary adaptation to their habitat; dense vegetation that reduces visual contact. Chickadees tend to occur in flocks with other species of birds including kinglets, creepers, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and warblers. The tendency for chickadees to call out when they have found a good food source might be one reason for this cohesion with other species. Another possibility is predator evasion as it has been observed that other birds that associate with chickadee flocks respond to chickadee alarm calls.

Chickadees in general are cachers; meaning that they gather and hide food for later. They have excellent memories and can remember where they cached food for nearly a month. During the summer and spring months they are primarily insectivorous (meaning they eat insects) and become more dependent upon seeds, berries, and animal fats during the winter months. Many people hang the ribcage and spine of big game animals for chickadees and woodpeckers to forage on during the winter while others will provide suet, black oil sunflowers seeds, and peanut butter in their back yard feeders. 

Chickadees are cavity nesters and tend to excavate their own cavities in trees a meter or higher off the ground but will use the abandoned cavity excavated by a woodpecker or other species. Once they are satisfied with the shape and depth of the cavity the female will build a small cup shaped nest at the bottom of the cavity and lay 6-8 white eggs with fine brown dots on them. Chicks are born naked with their eyes closed after ~13 days of incubation and fledge from the nest in another 12-16 days post-hatching. They continue to be fed by their parents but will begin caching food about a week after leaving the nest. Always planning ahead.