Will Chickadees Use Bluebird Houses? The Comprehensive Guide

Chickadees are cavity nesting birds, meaning they will nest in tree holes, and bird houses (nest boxes), and that means chickadees use bluebird houses as well. In fact, there are many benefits to offering a bluebird house to chickadees rather than using a smaller chickadee/wren house.

The question about whether chickadees use bluebird houses or not is an important question for a few reasons.

First, you may be considering putting up a bluebird nest box to attract bluebirds, but are worried chickadees may use it instead. We will definitely address that in this article.

Second, chickadees are native cavity nesting birds that usually have only one brood per year while other birds can have multiple sets of babies during a nesting season, so protecting them and helping them thrive is very important.

In this article, we’ll talk more about chickadees using bluebird houses, what to look for in a nest box specifically, chickadee nesting behavior, and the importance of protecting these native birds.

Caution when choosing bluebirds over chickadees

Before we dive into important information about chickadees using bluebird nest boxes, it is very important to discuss issues when trying to choose one bird over another.

Many people put up bluebird nest boxes hoping to attract bluebirds only to find out that a chickadee is building a nest.

Do not rip out a chickadee nest from a bluebird nest box. Chickadees are native, protected species in North America, and they are also very vulnerable to threats.

This might not be the bird you hoped for, but they are very important birds to your local ecosystem, and they are very charming.

Already, they face a lot of threats from predators, invasive species, habitat loss – and us.

While bluebirds might be your ultimate goal, please take a moment to consider the importance of your position as a native bird landlord, and how much you matter to other bird species besides bluebirds. Understand that as the steward of your backyard, there is a very special and important responsibility in helping your native birds thrive.

As you open yourself up to this idea, it’s time to think about hosting wild birds from the perspective of true conservation. Protecting all of your birds, and helping them thrive will bring forth amazing diversity to your backyard.

There is also some great news if you were hoping to host bluebirds instead:

After the set of chickadees have fledged the nest, you can reset the box for bluebirds to come. And bluebirds may become more interested in a box if they’ve seen other birds successfully raise young in it.

If you don’t like to wait, you can also add another nest box for your bluebirds. We have a lot more information within this article about doing that.

Chickadees use bluebird houses, but your choice in house is important

Bluebird nest boxes come in different styles, sizes and are even made of different material. We have a great guide about different bluebird nest box options that explains the purpose for each design choice.

But for this article, we’ll just briefly summarize our recommendations when it comes to chickadees.

When choosing a bluebird house, you want to find one that satisfies these criteria:

• built according to the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) specifications.
• made with light colors (white or natural wood color).
• for chickadees, avoid nest boxes made of recycled plastic because they may not like it.
• ensure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the nest box, or drill four holes – one in each corner.
• ensure the nest box has ventilation on both side panels. More venting is good so you may want to drill extra holes.
• ensure your nest box has kerfs (grooves on the inside just beneath the entry hole). This helps fledglings cling to the wall and get ready for take off. If the box does not have kerfs, you can score them in yourself using a screw driver, awl or utility knife. They are very very important for soon-to-be fledgling birds.
• ensure your nest box has good access for cleaning and monitoring.
• ensure your nest box can be properly mounted to a pole with a baffle.
• it is ideal to find a nest box large enough to fit a camera and a van ert trap.

Definitely take a look at the article about nest box designs because it also has pictures of some of these specifications in case you are not sure what some of these mean or look like.

That are a lot of check-boxes when it comes to a nest box. So to make it simple, we recommend the Woodlink BB3 model. It does not have kerfs, so you’ll need to add that in. But it is very easy to score the wood in order to make them.

And it might be a good idea to drill extra vent holes into it.

But, over all, the Woodlink BB3 is one of the most ideal commercially available wooden boxes that is also very affordable.

You can find it on Amazon*, or you can order it from our website.

Nature’s Way nest boxes are also very popular. But we do not recommend these because of their black top and smaller size. The black roof/darker roof can cause the nest box to overheat, which will kill eggs and nestlings on very hot days.

Benefits of using bluebird nest boxes for chickadees

There are several benefits when offering a bluebird nest box to chickadees rather than a smaller chickadee box.

1. Chickadees use bluebird houses, so you don’t have to worry too much about that.
2. Bluebird houses are bigger and deeper, which may give chickadees more protection from predators trying to reach in. Though we do have some very very important tips about how to protect chickadees from predators. It is also very important to use a stovepipe baffle for chickadees.
3. Because bluebird nest boxes are bigger, they provide more room for better monitoring and can support monitoring equipment like nest box cameras ands solar panels.
4. Bluebird nest boxes are appealing to several other cavity nesting birds, which means they have a wider range of use among other species.
5. Certain bluebird nest boxes can support a Van Ert nest box sparrow trap, which means you can use this box later as a decoy box.

Setting up a bluebird nest box to protect chickadees

At this point, you might be convinced – not only will chickadees use bluebird houses, but now you see that providing one for a chickadee is advantageous. The question at this point is how to protect chickadees?

Let’s start with nest box hole size.

Standard bluebird nest boxes have an entry hole size between 1-1/2 inches to 1-9/16 inches (depending on the bluebird species it was made for).

Chickadees, being smaller, do not need an entry hole this size. In fact, it’s better to reduce the hole size in order to protect chickadees from eviction and nest box attacks.

Once you know a chickadee is adding nesting material (moss) to a nest box, add a 1-1/8 inch hole reducer to the nest box. These can be found on Amazon* or at your local bird shop.

This hole guard will also protect chickadees from house sparrow attacks. If you live in an area that has Eurasian tree sparrows, which are smaller nonnative sparrows, they can get in a hole this size. So chickadee management can be a bit challenging when it comes to them.

Beyond a hole guard, which most birders will argue is absolutely necessary, it is important your nest box is mounted on a metal pole with a good stovepipe baffle.

The combination of a properly mounted nest box with a stovepipe baffle protects cavity nesting birds from a very wide range of predators. It costs a little more, but by not doing it, you’re turning your nest box into a lunch box. And that would not be responsible bird management.

If it is too costly to go this route, there are tutorials on how to make your own baffle – or the kindest thing you could do is not put up a nest box at all.

Nest boxes vs. birdhouses – the difference is critical

Nest boxes are designed more specifically for cavity nesting birds. Most are built with proper specifications to help birds thrive.

Decorative birdhouses on the other hand, are not built according to any specifications. They’re often beautiful, unique, and make a lovely addition to your yard, but they are a very dangerous choice for cavity nesting birds that are already struggling to thrive. Just to clarify, cavity nesting birds are the only type of bird that would use a birdhouse.

Decorative nest boxes are often not well insulated, not the right size, do not provide proper access for monitoring and cleaning, and are prone to overheating, leakage and other issues.

If you were given a decorative nest box as a gift, it doesn’t mean you can’t put it out on display. But it is important you plug up the hole or find an alternative use like an air plant planter.

Chickadee nesting behavior

When building a nest in an artificial nest box like a bluebird house, chickadees can take a week or two to build.

The way chickadees build nests is very consistent across the species. They will start with a base of moss and mix in peeled bark. As the female layers bark and moss, she will also shimmy in the section where she wants her cup to form.

By and by, layer by layer, she will have a very soft nest with a clean cup.

When she is finished with the moss/bark base, she will start to add fur. Chickadees often use rabbit fur to make a lining around top of the nest and in the cup.

Nest building is a little different when it comes to tree holes. Chickadees can be primary cavity birds, which means they will also excavate their own nest hole, much like a woodpecker would.

Below is a video of a chickadee excavating its nest in a dead part of a maple tree.

The excavation process can take a week as well. And after the chickadees are satisfied with their tree hole, they’ll begin the same process – adding moss and peeled park, and then lining the nest with fur.

Female chickadees usually lay one egg a day. If you’re monitoring a chickadee nest, you may not know there are eggs in the nest cup because female chickadees are known to cover their eggs with fur when they leave the nest box. This is especially true while she is in the egg-laying phase.

The next step is incubation. The mother bird does not actually start incubating her eggs (sitting on them regularly) until all the eggs are laid. This ensures they all hatch at the same time and fledge at the same time.

Chickadee incubation lasts about 12-14 days. Then comes hatch day.

After the babies hatch, it takes about 16-18 days before they’re ready to leave the nest (hatch day is day 0).

Though the young chickadees have left the nest, their parents still watch over them, teaching them how to be chickadees and also feeding them until they are able to figure out how to feed themselves.

Usually, chickadees only have one brood (one set of young) per year. So once they are done, that’s it.

You can clean out the nest box and then reset it after it dries. Another bird species might move in like a bluebird or tree swallow.

Below are some helpful videos on chickadee nesting. The first video shows nest building all the way to hatch day with dates. The second video shows a chickadee fledge day, and the third video is general facts and information about chickadees.

The importance of protecting chickadees

Chickadees are native cavity nesting birds. They are also extremely charming, very chatty and very smart. But they are also a little skittish.

If you discover that you are hosting these birds (or any native bird), it is very important to take steps to protect them, especially since they only have one set of young per year.

While you may think that cavity nesting birds have extra protection since they nest in a box, they are actually more vulnerable during predation events.

Unlike open nesters (cardinals, robins, and blue jays, for example) who have a 360 degree escape route, cavity birds are trapped in the nest box when a predator reaches in or climbs in.

When landlording cavity nesting birds, it is important to actively monitor the nest and equip it so that your birds have the best chance for a successful nest.

Related articles:

• What to do if a chickadee builds a nest in your bluebird nest box. This article covers most of the same topics here, but could be worth scanning.
• How far apart to space chickadee nest boxes. This article looks at 5 different chickadee species in North American and the territorial distance needed for each of them.
• Do chickadees invade active nest boxes? This article addresses reports of rare chickadee behavior. It is uncommon for them to invade an active nest, but it has happened before. There is also a form you can use to report your case if you have observed this.

* This article contains affiliate links. While there are affiliate links on this site, our primary goal is bird conservation. We do not recommend products for a quick buck. We recommend products that have been tested and meet our incredibly high standards for bird protection and conservation. But as an Amazon Associate Nest Hollow earns from qualifying purchases.