Uploaded February 2022 | Updated September 2026, 6 minutes ago
One of the most beloved little birds, the Black-capped Chickadee is pretty common in most of North America. As some of you know I’ve had many close relationships with these precious little birds. For the entirety of my 11-year experience watching wild birds, their curious way, of allowing people to observe them up close has provided me with much enjoyment and a great experience watching the fascinating habits they display.
Black-capped Chickadee nestbox video:
youtu.be/CgO_zDGgTjA
Black-capped Chickadee Calls and Sounds video:
youtu.be/s0jK35lFZvA
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:40 What do Black-capped Chickadees look like
01:14 Similar-looking birds
02:00 What do Black-capped Chickadees like to at
04:06 How to attract a Black-capped Chickadee to your feeder
04:57 Habitat and where to find Black-capped Chickadees
05:17 Their hierarchy
06:04 Chickadee -dee-dee call
06:50 Seet call
07:03 Feebee or Cheeburger call
07:16 Gargle call/song
07:34 Broken dee call
07:56 Nesting (building, eggs, babies, snake display, fledging)
10:28 Quiet feebee call
11:09 Population / conservation
11:32 Lifespan
12:08 My personal thoughts/experience
14:25 Black-capped Chickadee Nestbox
Black-capped chickadees are easy to recognize, look for their black bib and cap, white belly, gray back and a hint of tan on their flanks. Measuring around 5 to 6 in and weighing just a half an ounce or lower. There is no obvious difference between males and females, they both look the same but females tend to be slightly smaller.
The diet of these birds is pretty varied with them changing what they eat depending on the season. One major source, especially over summer, is insects which make up 90 percent of their diet and include lice, grub, beetles, and moths as well as the eggs, larvae, and pupae of these invertebrates. In the winter they switch their diet to mostly vegetable-like seeds of native trees, insects during this time only account for around 50 percent of what they consume. The occasional fruit like crabapple and berries are additional sources of nourishment but probably the most important thing that helps sustain them during a time when there isn't much around to eat.
One other source of food for chickadees comes from people who put up backyard feeders filled with black-oil sunflower seeds, peanuts and suet. Many people wholeheartedly welcome these birds to their feeders, since they are such pleasant guests, coming and going as they collect a seed, sometimes even stopping long enough to eat.
Seeing these delightful birds in a natural setting shouldn’t be hard since they live in a variety of habitats, such as deciduous and mixed forests, open woods, parks and disturbed areas.
One way to locate a Chickadee is to listen for their calls, the most common and easy to recognize is their namesake chickadee dee dee call which as researchers have discovered over the years serves many functions. Almost constantly these birds keep in contact with one another by using a low and short seet sound. As spring nears, males start singing the feebee song, to attract a mate or impress the mate he already has and to establish territory. They also use another call that is considered a song, the gargle call. This is often given during aggressive displays and has many of the same functions as songs do.
Females make a Broken dee call as they near egg-laying, during this time, the male will feed his mate as a part of courtship feeding.
Nest box provided by:
Bird Walking Down
birds.walkingdown.com
YouTube youtube.com/c/BirdsWalkingDown
Songs in the Video
Intro: Kevin Mcleod 'Carefree' incompetech.com
Ending: Kevin Mcleod 'Continue life' incompetech.com
The individuals' names can be found on their respective photo/video and /or found below (license at the end)
Canva.com
canva.com/policies/free-media
Other ways to Support LesleytheBirdNerd
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If you have a sick or injured bird in your possession I can not help this bird in any way it is strongly advised to contact a local vet or wildlife official before any decisions are made. It is very easy to do more harm than good when handling any wildlife.
============================================
For business inquiries or Post Office Box information
please contact Jamie at lesleythebirdnerd@gmail.com
==============================================
#LesleytheBirdNerd #Chickadee #BirdWatching
One of the most beloved little birds, the Black-capped Chickadee is pretty common in most of North America. As some of you know I’ve had many close relationships with these precious little birds. For the entirety of my 11-year experience watching wild birds, their curious way, of allowing people to observe them up close has provided me with much enjoyment and a great experience watching the fascinating habits they display.
Black-capped Chickadee nestbox video:
youtu.be/CgO_zDGgTjA
Black-capped Chickadee Calls and Sounds video:
youtu.be/s0jK35lFZvA
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:40 What do Black-capped Chickadees look like
01:14 Similar-looking birds
02:00 What do Black-capped Chickadees like to at
04:06 How to attract a Black-capped Chickadee to your feeder
04:57 Habitat and where to find Black-capped Chickadees
05:17 Their hierarchy
06:04 Chickadee -dee-dee call
06:50 Seet call
07:03 Feebee or Cheeburger call
07:16 Gargle call/song
07:34 Broken dee call
07:56 Nesting (building, eggs, babies, snake display, fledging)
10:28 Quiet feebee call
11:09 Population / conservation
11:32 Lifespan
12:08 My personal thoughts/experience
14:25 Black-capped Chickadee Nestbox
Black-capped chickadees are easy to recognize, look for their black bib and cap, white belly, gray back and a hint of tan on their flanks. Measuring around 5 to 6 in and weighing just a half an ounce or lower. There is no obvious difference between males and females, they both look the same but females tend to be slightly smaller.
The diet of these birds is pretty varied with them changing what they eat depending on the season. One major source, especially over summer, is insects which make up 90 percent of their diet and include lice, grub, beetles, and moths as well as the eggs, larvae, and pupae of these invertebrates. In the winter they switch their diet to mostly vegetable-like seeds of native trees, insects during this time only account for around 50 percent of what they consume. The occasional fruit like crabapple and berries are additional sources of nourishment but probably the most important thing that helps sustain them during a time when there isn't much around to eat.
One other source of food for chickadees comes from people who put up backyard feeders filled with black-oil sunflower seeds, peanuts and suet. Many people wholeheartedly welcome these birds to their feeders, since they are such pleasant guests, coming and going as they collect a seed, sometimes even stopping long enough to eat.
Seeing these delightful birds in a natural setting shouldn’t be hard since they live in a variety of habitats, such as deciduous and mixed forests, open woods, parks and disturbed areas.
One way to locate a Chickadee is to listen for their calls, the most common and easy to recognize is their namesake chickadee dee dee call which as researchers have discovered over the years serves many functions. Almost constantly these birds keep in contact with one another by using a low and short seet sound. As spring nears, males start singing the feebee song, to attract a mate or impress the mate he already has and to establish territory. They also use another call that is considered a song, the gargle call. This is often given during aggressive displays and has many of the same functions as songs do.
Females make a Broken dee call as they near egg-laying, during this time, the male will feed his mate as a part of courtship feeding.
Nest box provided by:
Bird Walking Down
birds.walkingdown.com
YouTube youtube.com/c/BirdsWalkingDown
Songs in the Video
Intro: Kevin Mcleod 'Carefree' incompetech.com
Ending: Kevin Mcleod 'Continue life' incompetech.com
The individuals' names can be found on their respective photo/video and /or found below (license at the end)
Canva.com
canva.com/policies/free-media
Other ways to Support LesleytheBirdNerd
-----------------------------
Merchandise from Spring.com
teespring.com/stores/lesleythebirdnerd
Merchandise from Bonfire.com bonfire.com/store/lesleythebirdnerd
Donate via Paypal
paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E5GM54J7C28LC
Also, find LesleytheBirdNerd here:
------------------------------------
Facebook Page
facebook.com/LesleytheBirdNerd
instagram.com/lesleythebirdnerd
reddit.com/r/LesleytheBirdNerd
============================================
If you have a sick or injured bird in your possession I can not help this bird in any way it is strongly advised to contact a local vet or wildlife official before any decisions are made. It is very easy to do more harm than good when handling any wildlife.
============================================
For business inquiries or Post Office Box information
please contact Jamie at lesleythebirdnerd@gmail.com
==============================================
#LesleytheBirdNerd #Chickadee #BirdWatching
