Now chickadees are interesting little birds all year but in the breeding season the spectacle gets very interesting. The males call for female attention with a fee bee call. There's lots of competition especially if there are two or more males in the area. Usually the male has a nest site in the area and he wants to get a female to take a look at it and partner with him. There's lots of back and forth stuff for several weeks. I've seen a female appear and go off with a male and in a few minutes looks at the other males wares. How do I know this? Just keep the bird in sight.
A pair will work on making a nest hole in a tree trunk or large branch. They are very good a finding a part of the tree which is rotten under the bark.
I watched this develop at my back step a few years ago. A pair of black-capped chickadees would work on a nest hole. They would disappear. Probably the female found some other male. Then couple of red-breasted nuthatches would work on the project. Then a pair of boreal chickadees would show up for a few days.
It seemed that there were lots of changes with the birds in trying to make the particular tree their nesting site.
Ten days ago I discovered chickadees working on making a hole in one of the trees in my yard. So far I've seen them chase off a nuthatch. Right now nobody seems to be working at the project.
These energetic little guys get a lot done and provide lots of entertainment . I have a feeling that I'm not finished seeing the hole develop in the tree.
They have a rather uneven entry
