Mountain Chickadees are tiny birds with black-and-white heads and gray over the body, darker on the back and light gray underneath.
- Poecile gambeli
- Length: 4.3-5.5 in (11-14 cm)
- Weight: 0.4 oz (11 g)
Range
Mountain Chickadees live in the mountains west of the US all year and do not migrate but may move down the mountain to lower areas in winter.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Mountain Chickadees in evergreen forests, especially those with pine and conifers. They eat insects and spiders, nuts, and seeds and will often visit backyard feeders. Mountain Chickadees will often stash food for later and create a store of food.
Mountain Chickadee Call:
Nests
Nests of Mountain Chickadees are usually in old nesting holes of woodpeckers and nuthatches. The female lines the cavity with fur and even covers her eggs when she leaves. They lay up to nine eggs, which take around two weeks to hatch and a further three weeks for the young to leave the nest.
Attract Mountain Chickadees
Attract them to your yard by putting up nest boxes, and they will visit most types of feeders with black oil sunflower seeds, mealworms, nyjer, suet, and peanut butter.
Fun fact:
The eggs of Mountain Chickadees are incubated 50% longer than other chickadee species, probably due to the protection that their old woodpecker nests give and the fact the female covers the eggs when she leaves.
