Coffee At Steve’s Country #26. Black-capped Chickadee.

Posted on January 26, 2021 by

30 Comments

Good morning everyone! Come in out of the cold, grab some nice hot coffee, or tea, and relax with Muffin and I for a few minutes. Well, they said it was going to be colder last night, but they were wrong, the temp is the same. Which means it’s cold, very cold, with a temp of -29C (-22F) and with the wind factored in the temp is actually -36C (-32F). That part is a slight improvement over yesterday, though when temps get that cold, 4 or 5 degrees is just not noticeable. Our high temp for the day yesterday was -21C (-6F).

Black-capped chickadee, male and female are identical.

I know many of you are unfamiliar with such temps, and believe me, you don’t want to feel them either. It is just unbelievably cold. It’s amazing my little bird friends can survive such temps, like my favorite, the black-capped chickadee. They are small, only 5 to 6 inches (12-15cm) from bill to tip of their tail and 2 to 2 and a half inches (5 to 5.5cm) is the tail. In this cold their hide their legs and feet under their feathers as often as possible, actually all birds up here in the north will do that.

2 chickadees on my hand.

These birds don’t build up fat like many other bird species, to help them through the winter, so they need to eat constantly all day long. But our nights are much longer than the day so how do they survive? During the day they will build up a bit of fat from their food to help them, but at night they drop their body temp from 108F during the day to only 86F at night. That lowers their rate of metabolism by 25%, which helps them survive the long, cold nights.

Chickadee pecking open a sunflower seed.

In winter they form loose flocks and travel together looking for food. At night they roost in dense evergreen groves, like spruce and balsam. They are the most common bird in Canada and are found from coast to coast within the tree line. They are also found through much of the northern half of the US. They number in the millions and are one of the most important pest exterminators in the forest. During the summer, 80-90% of their diet is insects, mostly harmful types, and about 50% in the winter. They find frozen insects that have hidden behind bark of trees for the winter. Plus they eat seeds in winter. They are also one of the most common birds at feeders in winter. They sing their name in such a way that it that it cheers the cold winter landscape. There is so much more I could say about these favorite little birds of mine, but I’ll stop there. I hope you like the chickadee pics as well. Have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2021 Steve McLeod.

Category: Beauty, Birds, Coffee, Cold, Country, Country Pleasures, Encouragement, Friends, Happiness, Outdoors, Photos, Positive, Relax, Uncategorized, WinterTags: , , , , , , , ,

30 Comments on “Coffee At Steve’s Country #26. Black-capped Chickadee.”

  2. My, my, my, I’ve got a competitor here 😁 now, why is Ontario is freezing ☃️ -6F 🤔 these cold are terrible, do stay warm and get help from your birds 😸 in covering your feet with feathers😁 but seriously, stay warm, these severe cold are not good. Good information about black capped chickadee 🙂☺️ and they look amazingly small and cute 😍🥰 beautiful pictures Steve 😍Have a warm day, stay warm, take care of yourself ☃️✨

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    • Yes, we are back in typical cold winter weather again. But it won’t last long this time, warming up by Thursday.😃 Until then I will stay inside🏡 and sit close to my heater and wrapped in a blanket with Muffin on my lap!! 😂😹☕☕☕☕And drink lots of coffee! Thanks Simon, glad you liked it! Have a wonderful evening/night!😁🌙😴

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  3. im always amazed that the birds come and sit on your hand to feed. it was cold here last night but no where near as cold as you. we were only 31F and we had frost warnings. fitting since we had hail storms yesterday. today? sunny!

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    • I was just thinking, that’s 53 degrees warmer than here, and it will be even colder tonight! But then it warms up Thursday and back to cold next week, but hopefully not as cold. We’ll see. I have had many species of birds land on my hand, some come quite readily, others it takes some time. I always enjoy it, it’s just such an amazing feeling. Sunny here too, but no warmth with it!😂

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    • Yes indeed, that’s why they are my all around favorite birds. They are an encouragement bird if anyone is going through some tough times, just look at them, they keep going and never give up in the worst of conditions. Thanks for reading Laura!😀😺☕☕

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  7. Chickadees are my favourite as well…you have the added pleasure of having them sitting are your hand ! And two of them ! ☕️☕️🙂😺☕️☕️

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