All chickadee species in the United States are cavity nesters, which means they’ll nest in tree holes and nest boxes. In nature, chickadees will excavate their own nest holes out of the soft wood in trees. You can encourage nesting by putting out a nest box for them.
In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of chickadee nesting behavior, nest box selection and chickadee protection.
Encouraging chickadee nesting is so important in the United States because these little birds face so many threats. And with habitat loss and invasive species like house sparrows and European starlings thriving, chickadees are on a decline in many places.
However, intentionally being a landlord to any cavity nesting bird, including chickadees, comes with important responsibilities.
We already have an informative article about steps you can take if you discover chickadees nesting in a bluebird box you’ve put out. Definitely check that out.
Article Contents
- Chickadee nest box (birdhouse) basics and selection
- Chickadee predator protection
- Basics of chickadee nesting behavior
- When chickadees house hunt
- Chickadee behavior when nesting in tree holes
- Chickadee behavior when nesting in nest boxes or birdhouses
- Chickadee nest composition and nest building
- Chickadee eggs and egg laying
- Key takeaways of chickadee nesting and management
Chickadee nest box (birdhouse) basics and selection
Chickadees will use nest boxes (bird houses), and this can be a great way to help these native birds thrive. If you have a bluebird box already, this is a great option to use for chickadees.
There are nest boxes specifically designed for chickadees. But we recommend bluebird boxes for a few reasons:
- They’re taller and depth can provide more protection for chickadees and nestlings.
- The depth allows better visualization when monitoring. It also allows more room for nest cameras.
- Bluebird boxes built to proper specifications offer larger access for monitoring and cleaning.
The one drawback to a bluebird house, which is easily remedied, is hole size. Bluebird houses will usually have a 1-1/2” – 1-9/16” hole size. To protect chickadees from invading bird attacks or eviction, you can add a hole reducer over the entry hole which will make the hole size smaller – 1-1/8 inch.
Chickadee protection
Nature is brutal. There are so many threats chickadees face, it is a wonder they have successful broods without our help.
Much of the reason for unsuccessful broods is a result of habitat loss, the proliferation of introduced species and feral, loose cats.
Besides all of the normal factors of nature such as predation can be a threat to chickadees.
As landlords, there are several ways to protect them.
Protecting chickadees from threats
Protecting chickadees residing in a tree hole is nearly impossible to protect from the many threats unless you’re able to climb the tree.
However, if they’re nesting in a nest box in your yard or on your trail, there are a few quick steps to protect your chickadees and help them be successful:
- Put a 1-/18 inch hole reducer on the nest box. This will prevent eviction by competing birds and attacks from house sparrows. Keep in mind, however, if you live in an area with Eurasian Tree Sparrows, these types of invasive sparrows .
- Add a stovepipe baffle to prevent snakes, squirrels and raccoons from invading the nest.
- After the first egg is laid, put up a wren guard. This will prevent wrens from poking the eggs or throwing nestlings out of the nest box in order to take over the nest. We have a helpful article and video about wren guards.
- Regularly check the nest box, making sure the eggs and nestlings are ok. As the nestlings are closer to fledging (day 14 or later) stop checking the nest.
Nest box monitoring
As long as your chickadees don’t mind, check the nest box regularly. Trail monitors usually check the nest box at least once a week, sometimes twice. If the box is set up at your home, you can get away with checking the nest box every other day, or every two days.
One thing to keep in mind is that some chickadees tolerate nest checks, others do not.
Go slow. They may yell, but if they continue to hang around, this is a good sign. Spend only a minute or less assessing the nest. You can take a cell phone picture, but don’t use a flash.
When approaching the nest, be sure to give it a tap to make sure the adult bird has left. You don’t want to startle her.
It’s also not a good idea to check in the mornings or in the evenings when she could either be laying eggs, or roosting.
You can also watch the nest box, waiting for her to leave so that you are certain it is unoccupied, and then quickly check.
We have a guide about nest box monitoring that has more information.
Nest box cameras to monitor chickadee nests
One of the best ways to monitor a chickadee nest box is with a camera mounted inside the box. Not only are they a great way to ensure the nest is safe, it is such a joy to watch the progression of nest building, egg laying, hatching and fledging.
Blink cameras are one of the most widely used wireless outdoor cameras for a nest box. They’re easy to install, have a pretty decent battery life, are motion activated and have night vision.
We have more information about the benefits of this camera, as well as an installation guide and an installation tutorial:
How to Install a Blink Camera In Your Nest Box/Birdhouse for Bird Monitoring
Basics of chickadee nesting behavior
To start, let’s define two important terms: clutch and brood.
A clutch is the count of eggs in a nesting period. In other words, it’s the number of eggs in a set that the chickadee (or any other bird) has laid.
A brood is the set of hatchlings within the same nesting period. During the breeding season, some birds have multiple broods, and a typical clutch size within each brood.
Another way to think of clutch and brood is like a restaurant. A clutch would be the number of people seated at a table. And a brood would be like the number of times people were seated at a specific table during a single night.
In most cases, chickadees have one brood per year during the breeding season. Their clutch size will vary among the different species, but will often range between 6 – 8 eggs.
The female chickadee will usually lay one egg per day, and will not begin to incubate (sit on them for lengthy periods) until the last egg is laid. This ensures all eggs hatch about the same day.
Chickadees begin house hunting in February and March.
During winter, chickadees remain in flocks, but they’ll begin to break off into pairs in February and March to establish their nesting territories.
Territorial range sizes depends on each chickadee. We have a really helpful resource about range sizes. It also discusses nesting height and territory conflicts with other bird species.
Paired chickadees will then begin looking for nesting sites. This could be in soft-wooded trees or nest boxes.
Chickadee behavior when nesting in tree holes
When it comes to soft-wooded trees, dying and dead trees make ideal locations for chickadees as the soft wood is ideal for excavation.
Chickadees will carve out the tree hole and dump the wood chips outside of the nest hole.
Chickadees can be finicky about nesting sites. Researchers who have studies black-capped and Carolina chickadees have found they will make 1.7 nest holes on average.
What this means is a pair may spend time excavating a hole, only to decide to try another location and excavate there instead. While other chickadees will settle on their original location.
As chickadees establish territory and nesting sites, males will vigorously defend their territory. Fights are usually not fatal or dangerous. More often, chickadees will exert a lot of effort chasing off rival males.
Chickadee behavior when nesting in nest boxes (birdhouses)
When looking for nest sites, chickadees will sometimes take up residence in nest boxes rather than excavating a hole in a tree.
However, chickadees can be a little funny about this. Their instinct is to still carve out their nest site, which means when they take up a nest box, they’ll spend some time trying to excavate.
An early sign you have chickadees considering your nest box is the presence of wood shavings in the box.
Chickadee nest composition and nest building
Once they feel the nest box is just right, the female chickadee will begin bringing moss (lichen) and wood peelings to make the base layer of her nest. She’ll build it up to be about 2 inches, give or take.
As she brings the sprigs of moss into her nest, she will work to create a cup where she will lay her eggs.
Once the base is complete, she will add a top layer of fur to complete the nest.
NOTE: If you are wanting to provide nesting material, never provide synthetic material, long material or human hair. Human hair can tangle the bird and cause nest destruction.
Time to nest completion depends on each bird and what the goings-on of their environment.
More time spent defending territory can lead to slower nest progression. On average, it should take about one week for completion, but it can take up to two weeks.
Chickadee eggs and egg laying
A female chickadee will lay one egg a day, usually in the morning time. After that, she will cover the eggs with a little tuft of fur and venture out of the nest.
Eggs are white with light brown speckles.
Pictures do not do justice to demonstrate how small chickadee eggs are. In reality, they are about the size of jelly beans. These eggs are also very delicate. Never try to touch or handle them.
Eggs are composed of protein, albumin and calcium carbonate. What you might not realize is how much calcium is needed in order to produce that many eggs. This can greatly deplete the female chickadee’s calcium stores.
In order to replenish, she will eat sand, wood ash, freshwater mollusks and other calcium rich items.
When eggs are not produced with enough calcium, there are consequences. Often, the eggs will be frail, break, and sometimes, if the mother bird is not getting enough calcium, she has been known to consume the eggs.
The takeaways of chickadee nesting and management
- Chickadees are cavity nesting birds, which means they will nest in tree cavities and nest boxes.
- Chickadees only have one brood per nesting season, and are up against a lot.
- You can use a traditional bluebird nest box to house chickadees, and that may even be better for their survival.
- Taking a few steps to protect your nesting chickadees can ensure successful nesting, which is important in bringing their numbers back up.
- Regular monitoring can help you assess the health of the nest.
- Installing a nest camera can help you monitor nest health as well as be a joyful experience to watch.
