Although winter birding may be pretty bleak – especially inland – it could be the perfect opportunity to get to know our stalwart year-round residents. Some of my most memorable avian encounters involve our state bird, the ubiquitous black-capped chickadee.

They visited my feeders when I first moved to Maine, eventually trusting me enough to take food from my hand. Their little feet would dimple my flesh as they briefly alighted to select a seed. In a flash they’d be off, either to eat their morsel in a protected niche or to store it for leaner times. Another time a curious chickadee landed on my shoulder as I stood quietly on a forest trail. That memory always serves to lighten my heart; it seems so magical and wondrous that a wild bird would ever approach a human on its own free will.

It was also the staccato alarm calls of this species that first alerted me to the presence of a barred owl stationed in a tree in my yard. The owl sat quietly, every now and then nonchalantly turning its head to survey the cloud of mobbing chickadees surrounding it. The chickadees made sure to raise a racket so as to warn every prey species within miles of the raptor’s location. Eventually, the owl launched itself from the branch and flew away. The chickadees returned to their business -smugly, it seemed to me – of foraging for and storing seeds.

Chickadees use their voices for more than just alarm. Researchers say their calls – particularly their characteristic “chick-a-dee-dee” -are among the most complex vocalizations in the animal kingdom. The dee note in the above call serves to identify members of one flock from those of another; is given to help birds locate one another; signals an “all clear” after a predator has left the area; and announces a newly discovered source of food. Scientists report that adults have at least 15 vocalizations, only three of which are given by very young chickadees.

The black-capped has another very distinct call which is given most frequently during spring and summer. People may confuse this call with that of the phoebe, which is a type of flycatcher. This bird’s call is a strident, buzzy “freee-breeee,” very hard for a human to reproduce. Both male and female chickadees emit a clear, whistled “fee-bee,” which can be imitated exactly by a human. This call serves to lead flocks, advertise territories, repel rivals, and facilitate recognition among individual birds.

There are six other species in the chickadee family, which includes the Carolina, Mexican, mountain, chestnut-backed, gray-headed, and boreal chickadees. The boreal is the only other chickadee besides the black-capped to be found in Maine.

As do other birds that must contend with harsh environments, the black-capped has evolved specialized behaviors to increase its chances of survival. When nights turn frigid, the chickadee enters a state of regulated hypothermia, lowering its body temperature 10 to 12 degrees below that of its daytime temperature. This reduces the amount of energy needed for overnight warmth.

So take the time to observe your resident chickadees, and take heart in their cheerful calls and abundant energy. Winter doesn’t have to be so bad, after all.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com