Chickadees’ viewing a real delight Close encounter at Chimney Pond

A visit to Chimney Pond in Baxter State Park just wouldn’t be the same without the boreal chickadee.

The presence of this endearing little bird is an integral part of the ecology of the region. As its name suggests, it inhabits only the northern coniferous forests of Canada and the United States. It breeds, raises its young, and winters among the sheltering spruce and fir of the north woods.

We always have close encounters with this chickadee whenever we camp at Chimney, for, as the “Birds of North America” states, it is “noted for its tameness and ability to live near human habitations.” In fact, BNA reports that a female bird tried to collect a strand of hair for nesting material from the head of one observer.

This year we were delighted to observe adults feeding their fledglings. The young were positively adorable as they quivered their wings and begged food from their parents. They were old enough to forage on their own, as they did in between visits from the adult birds. However, they were still glad to accept handouts when they could get them.

Boreal chickadees flock together throughout the winter, both with others of their kind and with species such as the similar black-capped chickadees, golden-crowned kinglets, and brown creepers. Pairs begin forming in late winter as the flock breaks up.

Females begin nest building in April. They may construct their nests with dry moss, deer or rabbit hair, and lichen in a tree cavity, which they may excavate themselves.

The young we observed appeared to be ready to strike out on their own. Since they only remain with their parents for two weeks after fledging, I guessed they had hatched in early to mid-June after a 15-day incubation. Fledging takes about 18 days, so they may have been out of the nest for at least one week when we saw them.

These chickadees can be distinguished from our more common black-capped variety by their brown, rather than black, heads, as well as by the pale cinnamon wash along their flanks and underneath their tales. Their call is similar to the black-capped, but shorter and much more nasal in quality.

Winter survival depends on this bird’s ability to store food, and it has a unique way of doing this: it secures food items with spider silk. In years with severe food shortages, the chickadees “irrupt” southward along with other northern birds, resulting in local sightings of them.

Chris Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com