How to Attract the Chickadee
to your Garden or Backyard
The small and perky Chickadee is a familiar and welcome visitor to our backyards and gardens.
There are 5 species in North America, the black capped chickadee which makes its home to the north, the Chestnut backed chickadee found in the Pacific Northwest, the Carolina chickadee which is found in the south east, the mountain chickadee found in the west, and the Mexican chickadee found in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and the west and central mountainous areas of Mexico.
Chickadees are a frequent visitor to backyard bird feeders, bird baths and bird houses. These active and agile little birds can be seen around your backyard feeder or in the trees eating insects, seeds and berries.
The chickadee is largely an insect eater. The constantly active chickadee will hop around and cling to twigs, branches, and foliage gleaning huge quantities of insect eggs and larvae. Chickadees are in constant motion and will appreciate lots of high energy food. Offer plenty of SUET in special SUET FEEDERS
Pine seeds are an important natural vegetable food along with the seeds and nuts of hemlock, birch, pine, walnut, ragweed and sunflower. Chickadees love BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER SEED presented at your bird feeder. They will typically take one seed from the feeder, fly away and perch nearby to eat it. Chickadees will visit your feeder one at a time, while other chickadees wait nearby for their turn. They also enjoy gray striped sunflower seeds, peanut kernels, and hulled sunflower seeds.
Chickadees enjoy the berries of poison ivy, blueberry, bayberry, and serviceberry. Plant hemlock in your backyard or plant a pine, birch, aspen or elm tree. Plant berry producing bushes such as blueberry, elderberry and bayberries. Create dense plantings of shrubs and trees in your yard to attract these desirable backyard birds.
Chickadees are cavity nesting birds, sometimes nesting in abandoned woodpecker holes and the natural cavities of trees. Most often they dig their own nesting holes out of partially rotted tree trunks or stumps. Put out a couple of CHICKADEE SPECIFIC NEST BOX to encourage them to nest in your backyard. Place small wood chips inside to persuade them to use it. They won't use the wood chips for nesting, but this lining will convince them that the nesting box is fresh and acceptable. Mount the box on the trunk of a pine, birch, aspen or elm tree.
Chickadees will also enjoy a source of fresh water for drinking and bathing. Have a BIRDBATH available for them.
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