Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
(North Carolina Species of Concern)
The Black-capped Chickadee is a year-round resident in the highest elevations of our mountains. This tiny bird is known for its curiosity and sociability. Its call is a 2 to 3 note fee-bee or hey, sweetie. When a chickadee sounds the alarm, the more dee’s on the end of their chicka-dee-dee-dee means the greater the danger.
| food | nesting |
|---|---|
| The Black-capped Chickadee eats insects during the summer months. It switches to berries and seeds other times of the year, and even carcasses in the winter! | This chickadee likes to nest in forested areas, yards with big trees, and along forest edges. They prefer alder and birch trees. The nest can contain one to thirteen eggs, which take almost two weeks to hatch. |
| habitat |
nest box location |
| In North Carolina, the Black-capped Chickadee is found in higher elevation (3500 feet and above), oak and mixed hardwood/pine forests, northern hardwood and spruce-fir forest. | When picking the site for the nestbox, look for partially shaded areas and point the hole of the box away from the prevailing wind. If the box is set back into the woods about 60 feet, there is less of a chance that wrens will nest in it. Branches and leaves should not block the entrance. Place the box from 5 to 15 feet off the ground. Do not put up more than one box per 10 acres. Put 1” of wood shavings in the box. The Black-capped Chickadees likes to dig out its nest, rather than building it in an empty box. |
