Black-Capped Chickadees

by Gil Newton

Whenever I read or hear about birds in this area it's usually a report of a rare species sighting. Spotting scopes and binoculars are set up to observe an unusual stray species that is temporarily visiting this region. Cape Cod is a pathway for many migratory species that spend a portion of their journey resting and feeding here before returning to other lands.

Photo courtesy of Chris Dumas

But there are some species that are so common that we rarely pay any attention to them at all. And though it's always exciting and informative to see something rare and maybe endangered, I find it just as interesting to learn about the more common species.

One such animal is the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) which is also the Massachusetts state bird. These common birds are frequently seen along the edges of mixed coniferous and deciduous woodlands such as exists throughout Cape Cod. I have a couple of small bird houses on my property that are currently occupied by chickadees. They also frequent my bird feeders and seem to have eclectic tastes for food. Whether I put out suet, sunflower seeds, or even mixed seeds, they are feeding here every day. This is particularly true during the winter months when natural food sources can be scarce. Chickadees will also feed on the numerous insects available in the summer. I grow a lot of wildflowers which attract many species of insects. You can also encourage the presence of chickadee populations if you grow alder or birch trees on your property.

Chickadees have about one brood per year which is incubated by the female for up to two weeks. The male provides the food during this time. Once hatched the young will leave the nest following another two weeks. The nest will contain around half a dozen eggs that have reddish brown dots. A chickadee can live up to two years.

Chickadees are a common sight year round, and a welcome sight in the winter when other animals have migrated or hibernated. They have adapted to the colder climates by lowering their body temperature. This enables them to survive on less energy when there are fewer food sources. Even on a snowy day you can see small flocks of chickadees in the woods with their characteristic black-capped heads and grayish-white wings. They have been known to hide seeds and have a good memory of the numerous hiding places, a behavioral trait that reminds me of squirrels.

Chickadees also seem to thrive around human communities, even in fragmented habitats such as our traditional one acre zoning for houses. I've read stories of how chickadees may even eat out of a person's hand, but that has never happened to me. However, if you sit still outdoors they will come close, seemingly unafraid of people. Maybe that is one reason why so many of us put out feeders for this common, yet welcome, inhabitant of the forest.

A Cape Cod native, Gil has been teaching environmental and marine science at Sandwich High School and Cape Cod Community College for many years. His classes include coastal ecology, botany, coastal zone management, and environmental technology. In 2013 he became the first director of the Sandwich STEM Academy. Gil has also taught classes for Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Falmouth Academy, Bridgewater State University, and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. He was the Program Director for the Advanced Studies and Leadership Program at Massachusetts Maritime Academy for 14 years.

One of the founders of the Barnstable Land Trust, Gil is past president of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. He completed his graduate work in biology at Florida State University. Gil is the author of several books about the Cape’s shoreline including the recent Mysteries of Seaweed.