Black-capped Chickadees
Black-capped chickadees are those cheery little birds with solid black caps and chins that flit about in the trees calling chick-a-dee-dee-dee. Very common in North America, their range takes in a crescent shaped area including Alaska and Newfoundland at its northern points and Kansas and northern New Mexico in its southern curve. Black-capped Chickadees frequent wooded areas and bird feeders.
Attract Black-capped Chickadees to Your Yard
Certain features attract Black-capped Chickadees and many other birds: food, shelter, and nesting sites. Chickadees are among the most common visitors to bird feeders, however, they eat many insects, insect larvae, spiders, and other invertebrates as well, particularly in the breeding season. Native plants, some wild spaces, lack of pesticides and chemicals, and lots of trees, will create an ideal backyard habitat for chickadees. For shelter, dense evergreens are ideal. Old dead trees and nesting boxes provide nesting sites.
Design, Dimensions, and Features of a Nesting Box
Black-capped Chickadees nest in cavities, usually from one to three meters above the ground—holes in stumps and dead trees that they often excavate themselves. A bird house intended for chickadees should imitate these natural conditions. Most designs are rectangular boxes of wood with a hole in the front, but other designs will also work: a long piece of 3" wide grey PVC plumbing pipe or a box with a curved front covered with tree bark will also work. Keep the following features in mind when designing a nesting box for Black-capped Chickadees:
- Interior box dimensions should be about 8 x 13cm (3 x 5in) for the floor and 19cm deep. Designs using PVC pipe have used 35cm (14in) lengths.
- The entrance hole should be 2.8cm (1 1/8 in).
- The roof should prevent rain from flooding the nest.
- Drainage holes drilled or poked in the floor provide drainage and air circulation.
- Filling the box with sawdust up to the entrance hole gives the birds something to excavate while nest building.
- It should be possible to open the box easily for cleaning.
Choose the Right Location
It’s nice to locate the nesting box where you can see it and watch nesting activities, but focus on the bird’s preferences rather than your own:
- Choose a birch or beech tree, if possible, in a small thicket of trees or near the edge of the woods.
- Place the hole between one and three meters (3–10ft) above the ground. About two meters (6.5ft) is a convenient height for both viewing and cleaning.
- The orientation of the entrance hole may not matter, but consider which direction provides the most shelter (southerly, or away from the prevailing winds) and which direction provides a clear flight path to the opening.
You can read more about Black-capped Chickadees: knowing a bit about these familiar birds will help you understand their activities if they nest in your nest box or elsewhere in your yard.
Related Content:
Sources:
“Black-capped Chickadee.” Hinterland Who’s Who. Canadian Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Federation.
"Black-capped Chickadee Nest Box Plans." Saw Creek Bird Supply
"How to Build a PVC-tube Chickadee Nest Box." Mennill, Dan and Ken Otter.
