Chickadees Are Not What You Think

Chickadees are far different from the cheery, friendly image portrayed in the arts and crafts and greeting card markets. Rather, a Black-capped Chickadee lives a dangerous life in a fierce, competitive battle for space and food.

It is true that chickadees commonly will come to the human hand for the right food if offered, but not from any affection for my kind and not because they are “tamer” [to use the word of self-proclaimed birding experts] than other wild species. Rather, the chickadees I hold in my hand are simply using their gift of superior courage to exploit a feeding niche that they know their bigger competitors will shun. Not having to spar with a much larger cardinal or woodpecker for a sunflower seed in my hand, the chickadee has free reign over this food, unlike the food in an ordinary backyard birdfeeder. Whenever more than one chickadee is involved, though, the posturing and fighting are continual among them. Only the quickest, smartest, and bravest will survive generation after generation.

Since chickadees cannot store fat, they must constantly find food. The offerings of sunflower seed from my hand make relatively easy meals for those who have the courage and guile for competing to exploit.
For those who have already read my book, please bear with this first installment since it repeats a point already made. For those of you new to the world of the Black-capped Chickadee, you could catch up by reading about the life of the dominant chickadee I came to call Mr. Picky in my book. Check my blog on Google for the newest humor and drama of the Chickadee Band as it unfolds around me and for insights on what it is like to stand in the middle of the flock.

--Ann McClain Roher, Author