Black-capped Chickadee excavating a nest cavity
Poecile atricapillus
Black Lake Meadows
Olympia, WA
March 18, 2015
From the Edward L. Rose Conservancy's December 2014 newsletter, written by Kristi Sullivan (Co-Director of the Conservation Education and Research Program at Cornell's Department of Natural Resources)
Chickadees live in wooded habitats of all kinds, including deciduous and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodlands, open woods, old fields, parks, and neighborhoods. They are most abundant along forest edges. Chickadees will excavate nest cavities in dead trees or dead tree limbs by pecking away rotting wood. They will also use old woodpecker holes if available, and sometimes will use nesting boxes when natural cavities are not available. The male and female both work to excavate the nest cavity, though the female alone lines the nest cavity with moss, feathers, plant down, hair, and insect cocoons. Once the cavity is lined, the female lays 6-8 eggs, which she alone incubates. The male feeds the female while she is on the nest, and both parents feed the young after they hatch.
Forests with between 50 - 75% canopy closure, and a well-developed middle and lower canopy layer, are optimum habitat for chickadees. The abundance of leaves under these conditions attracts insects that provide food for these birds. Because black-capped chickadees nest in tree cavities and can only excavate a cavity in soft or rotten wood, landowners can create ideal breeding habitat by managing to provide two snags (trees that are dead or partially dead) per acre between 4 and 10 inches in diameter. Snags provide holes, or cavities, in which chickadees and many other species can roost or nest and will help keep your woods alive year-round with the sights and sounds of bird life.