Mountain Chickadee

The Mountain Chickadee is one of our favorite backyard birds!

Latin name: Poecile gambeli

Length, wingspan: 5.25″, 8.5″

What they eat: Seeds, insects and suet

Plants that attract: Prefer conifers, dense shrubs

Where they nest: Cavities within trees (made by other birds) and birdhouses (1-1/4″ entrance)

My observations: Throughout the year, Mountain Chickadees are busy little guys in my garden. While they have black feathers on the top of their heads just like Black-capped Chickadees, they are easily distinguished by their white eyebrows. Mountain Chickadees are even easier to identify from their “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call. They are quite tame and I love watching them occasionally hang upside-down to eat. They nest in our garden every year.

For more details about this bird, go to Cornell’s All About Birds website.

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