Written by: Justin Roberts
Posted on: July 4, 2026
The Chickadee Nest Cavity: Excavator, Squatter, or Both
Chickadees don’t fit neatly into either the full-excavator category woodpeckers occupy or the secondary-cavity-user category bluebirds occupy. They genuinely do both, depending on what’s available. Self-Excavation: Only in Soft Wood Chickadees can chisel out a shallow cavity themselves, but only in genuinely soft, decayed wood…
Written by: Justin Roberts
Posted on: July 4, 2026
Chickadee Eggs: Color, Clutch Size & Incubation
Chickadees lay some of the largest clutches of any species — a real contrast to the smaller broods typical of bluebirds, orioles, or woodpeckers, and a detail that shapes just how demanding the following few weeks become for both parents. Egg Color and Pattern Chickadee…
Written by: Justin Roberts
Posted on: July 4, 2026
Old Woodpecker Cavities and Nest Boxes: How Chickadees Use Both
Chickadees sit right at the center of one of the more interesting ecological relationships: they’re one of the most direct beneficiaries of the excavation work woodpeckers leave behind. Why Old Woodpecker Cavities Matter So Much Here Because chickadees can only excavate their own cavity in…
Written by: Justin Roberts
Posted on: July 4, 2026
Baby Chickadees: Raising a Brood of Six to Eight
A chickadee brood of six to eight chicks is considerably larger than most other cavity-nesting songbirds attempt at once, and feeding that many growing chicks becomes a genuinely demanding, nearly nonstop effort for both parents. At Hatching Newly hatched chickadees are altricial: blind, featherless, and…