They will reside within the same range all year and don't migrate,
although they may move to the southern edge of their range in the winter.
They are able to reduce their body temperature on cold winter nights to
help save energy. Their body temperature at night will drop as much as 10-12
degrees celsius.
In winter they will often flock together and commonly travel with other
birds such as Nuthatches, Titmice, Creepers and Kinglets. This is a more
efficient way to hunt for food, because when one Chickadee finds a good food
source , it will call out to the others.
Habitat
Chickadees are mostly found in open woods and along the edges of forests,
especially where alders or birches grow. They like deciduous trees and will
avoid forests that only contain coniferous trees.
They will live in the suburbs if nesting sites are available.
Food
They will hop along tree branches, sometimes hanging upside down to find
food, or catch insects out of the air.
In winter they feed on insect eggs, small fruit, seeds and berries.
They are especially attracted to feeders containing sunflower seeds or
suet cakes hung from a tree limb.
A lot of the times the Chickadees will hide the sunflower seeds in cracks
in tree bark for use at a later time. Because of their great memory,
Chickadees can remember thousands of hiding places at a time and remember
them for up to 28 days.
It is common to see them on a tree limb hammering the seeds with their
beak, to open them up, to get to the meaty part of the sunflower seed.
Song
The bird gets it's name from it's familiar call... chick-a-dee-dee-dee
.
Nesting
Chickadees nest in mixed or deciduous woods in Alaska Canada and northern
United States.
They pair up in the fall and remain together throughout the winter as
part of a flock. As the flocks break up in late winter they remain together
to defend their nesting territory. The female is often fed by the male
beginning very early in the spring.
The Chickadees will often enlarge a cavity in rotten wood they find in a
tree or sometimes use an old Woodpecker hole. They will also use nest boxes.
Both sexes will help enlarge natural cavities, then the female will build
the nest.
Most Chickadee nests are made with green moss and then lined with softer
materials such as animal hair.
They will nest once a year and the nest will usually contain 5-8 white
eggs with fine reddish dots concentrated around the larger end of the egg.
The female will incubate the eggs for 11-13 days and will cover the eggs
with nest material whenever she has to leave the nest.
The male will often bring food to the female while she is incubating the
eggs. For a while, after the eggs hatch, the female will remain with the
young as the male continues to bring food. Then later they both will feed
the young.
In about 14-18 days the young will be ready to leave the nest.
