The Black Capped Chickadee, easily one of Country Anvil’s favorite birds! Why one may ask? The reasons are many but here’s a few;
- They are so darn cute
- They are easy to attract to your backyard feeder
- They will eat from your hand
- They have a very distinct and diverse vocabulary
- They are so darn cute (sorry, that is worth mentioning twice!)
The Black Capped Chickadee has a large range from the northern U.S A. and deep into Canada. They are very hardy little guys who can be seen foraging for food on the worst days winter has to offer.
Black Capped Chickadees are typically monogamous and will stay together for several years which unfortunately is their average expected lifespan in the wild. But on the bright side, a banded Chickadee was re-caught after a period of almost 12 years then released again so the current thought on their lifespan may be a bit outdated.
During the summer they will find a mate and build their home in an abandoned woodpecker nest, a hollow in a tree, excavate rotten parts of trees, and take readily to a little help from their human friends in the form of a nest box. They will nest anywhere from 5 feet to 60 feet off of the ground.
A pair will usually produce 1 clutch per year which may consist of 1 to 13 eggs. Eggs normally hatch within 2 weeks and the babies become fledglings in about the same time period, 2 weeks.
Setting up a humble birdfeeder in your yard and making sure there is a good supply of black oil sunflower seed will almost guarantee that the Chickadee will visit and hopefully become one of your favorite woodland creatures too.
Once you have a steady supply of these little guys at your feeder it becomes easy to get them to eat from your hand. When the feeder it empty, simply stand near the feeder with seed in your outstretched hand and remain as motionless as possible. Sooner or later a brave little soul will land on you to take a seed and that experience it completely incredible!