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Carolina Chickadees

Ranked #4,658 in Pets & Animals, #115,961 overall

Perky Little Bird of the Eastern United States

Carolina Chickadees are great little cavity nesting birds that nest very early in spring. They are permanent residents in the Eastern United States and coexist well with humans since they love sunflower seeds and suet. Chickadees are very under rated and everyone should take more notice of these bold and intelligent little birds. In these small birds dwells the heart of a lion! This lens celebrates the Carolina Chickadee.

Contents at a Glance

Carolina Chickadee, Louisiana's Only Chi...
Identifying Carolina Chickadee
Diet
Nesting
Carolina Chickadee Caring For Young
Traditional Bluebird House

Carolina Chickadee, Louisiana's Only Chickadee

One of our favorite birds is the Carolina Chickadee. To be so tiny, this bird has the heart of a lion. They are inquisitive and intelligent and seem to be comfortable with man. They are the first ones to discover and use a new feeder or nest box and will not hesitate to let you know when something bothers them.

Identifying Carolina Chickadee

Buy Carolina Chickadee by naturegirl7

Carolina Chickadees are from 10-12 cm (4-5 in) with a wingspan of 15-20 cm (6-8 in). They weigh from 8-12 g (0.28-0.42 ounces). It is a small, short-billed bird with a black cap, black bib and white cheeks. Its back is unstreaked gray, underparts whitish, wings and tail are dark grayish and flanks are gray or brownish. The upper wing feathers have no or only little white edging. The tail is rather long and the bill is black. The legs and feet are gray.

Reference: All About Birds

Diet

According to Martin, Zim and Nelson in American Wildlife & Plants - A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits, Carolina Chickadees have diets similar to Blackcapped Chickadees. During winter, animal foods include large numbers of the eggs of moths, plant lice, katydids and spiders. In warmer months the animal diet consists of moths, caterpillars, spiders, beetles (particularly weevils), flies, wasps, true bugs, plant lice, scale insects, leafhoppers and treehoppers. In the Southeast plant food includes: seeds from Pines, Poison-ivy, Bayberry, Ragweed, Red Maple and Elm. They also enjoy sunflower seeds and suet.

So this bird is another of the many wild "helpers" who organically rid our gardens of harmful insects.

Nesting

In our area, Carolina Chickadees frequently use the nest boxes on our Bluebird Trail. These perky little birds are permanent residents. Their chikadeedeedeedee call is made frequently as they visit the sunflower seed feeder.

Listen to the Call of the Carolina Chickadee.

Chickadees excavate cavities in rotten trees, but will readily take advantage of a nest box. They are the first to nest in the spring and are usually finished by the time most of the other birds are ready to nest. Chickadees usually nest once a year, but will attempt a second nesting if the first one failed.

Their nests are made mostly of green moss with some hair and fur to form a cup. We put out the clippings from our Cocker Spaniel's haircuts in a wire suet basket and the Chickadees love them.

Shortly after the nest is completed, the female lays from 3-8 speckled eggs and incubates them for 11 to 14 days, beginning the day the next-to-last egg is laid. The nestlings fledge when they are 13 to 17 days old.

Carolina Chickadee Caring For Young

Traditional Bluebird House

Traditional Bluebird House
Price: 34.50

This traditional Bluebird House has a 1 9/16 in hole. Woodlink makes high-quality, Ornithologically correct houses and shelters.

Chickadees and Titmice

Ecology and Behavior of Chickadees and Titmice: An Integrated Approach

Amazon Price: $76.37 (as of 02/16/2012)

Chickadee Rescue

I'll never forget the day that I was working in the yard and a heard the Chickadees fussing and calling from a forested area nearby. One of them flew over towards me and then flew back to where the others were giving distress calls. As I made my way through the brush, the Chickadee kept returning to me until it lead me to an oak tree with a Chickadee size hole in it. I could barely see the hole, because there was a rat snake halfway in and the Chickadees were diving at it.

Since the hole was too high for me to reach, I ran to get a step stool and called for my tall husband to come help. He's the snake expert and he verified that it was a rat snake and was able to remove it from the Chickadee's nesting cavity. There were no lumps in the snake, so we think we intervened in time. Rat snakes are very beneficial animals because they rid the environment of vermin, so we released the snake in the woods, far away from our yard.

Gotta' Read about the Dee's

CHICKADEES by SHARON SHARPE by sharonsharpe

Chickadee Story for the Fledglings

Emily the Chickadee: Emily Waits For Her Family

by: Carol Zelaya

Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 02/16/2012)

Chickadee Feeders on Amazon

Baby Chickadees Video Cam

Chickadee Couple

The Encore Group Chickadee Couple

Amazon Price: (as of 02/16/2012)

Chickadee Blogs

Whooping cranes settle in at Wheeler refuge: Top 10 birds seen on Alabama checklists: northern cardinal, mourning dove, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, northern mockingbird, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, blue jay, and downy woodpecker. As two juvenile whooping cranes fly ...
Don't miss the 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count: Carolina Chickadee photographed during the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count. Image Credit: Ken Childs, TN. Participation is very easy. You simply need to: (1) pick a location, which can be your backyard, a local park or a wildlife refuge, (2) visit your ...
Chickadees lead the count in Project FeederWatch: That's black-capped and Carolina chickadees, reported together because they are so much alike in appearance and habits. The area delineated so broadly is the Mid-Atlantic, East-Central, Northeast, Great Lakes, Allegheny, and Atlantic Canada Regions of ...
Chickadee days: One of our most frequent and sociable visitors to backyard feeders, the Carolina chickadee delights in mid-winter snacks that include, beside a good mixture of seeds, a bit of something on the order of peanut butter or fat-rich suet.

5 Cavity-nesting Birds Poster

5 Cavity-nesting Birds Posters
Price: 12.50

Cavity-Nesting Bird Poster. All the best-loved cavity-nesters are pictured on the front. Birdhouse tips, habitat needs, and other information is shown on the on back. Ideal for schools, libraries, gifts, the kid's room and more! Includes five copies.

Chickadees on eBay

Cavity Nesting Birds Slide Show

Other Lenses About Cavity Nesting Birds

Chickadee Couple

The Encore Group Chickadee Couple

Amazon Price: (as of 02/16/2012)

Let's Hear it for Carolina Chickadees!

Carolina Chickadee in Silverbell by naturegirl7

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Reply

WordCustard Mar 30, 2011 @ 4:33 pm | delete

I don't think I've ever met a Chickadee before so it was lovely to learn all about this delightful bird here. Blessed by a passing angel.

Reply

ElizabethJeanAllen Oct 26, 2008 @ 5:34 am | delete

The Carolina Chickadees sing a beautiful song.
Great lens
Lizzy

Reply

OhMe Sep 26, 2008 @ 1:39 pm | delete

We love to watch the Carolina Chickadees but I am afraid I wouldn't have intervened when it came to a snake - not even a rat snake. Loved the slideshow. 5* fav

Reply

ElizabethJeanAllen Aug 16, 2008 @ 9:27 pm | delete

There are several Carolina Chickadees that frequent my birdfeeder. At first I thought they were Black-capped Chickadees but once I pulled out the binoculars I could see the difference. They are both beautiful birds.
Great lens.
Lizzy

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created by naturegirl7

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