Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Minnesota, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Boreal Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee – Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren CC by 2.0
Identification
Boreal Chickadees are small, round looking birds with a brown cap, brown back, dark gray wings, and buffy colored sides. They have a light underside, a black throat, and white cheeks. They make a very raspy “chickadee” call that sounds more coarse than that on the Black-capped Chickadee.
Range
Boreal Chickadees are year-round residents of Canada and Alaska. In the continental United States, there are only a few states that harbor these birds including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maine among others. In these places, Boreal Chickadees only inhabit the most northern parts of the states.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Boreal Chickadees feed on both insects and seeds. They will grip onto conifer cones and use their bills to open the cones and take the seeds inside. Boreal Chickadees search for insects on tree trunks and branches meticulously searching under bark and in crevices.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Minnesota.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Georgia, there is one species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about that species.
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee – Photo by Shenandoah National Park
Identification
Carolina Chickadees have a gray back and wings, buffy sides, and a light colored underside. They have a black cap, black chin, and white cheeks. They look incredibly identical to Black-capped Chickadees and in places where their ranges overlap are best identified by song.
Range
Carolina Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. Their range also extends into some of the northeastern and midwestern states as far up as Ohio and Delaware.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Carolina Chickadees inhabit a wide variety of different places including edge habitat, parks, backyards, and deciduous forests. They can often be heard before they are seen, making a cheerful chickadee call (which is more rapid than the Black-capped Chickadee) along with other sounds.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Georgia.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Maine, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Boreal Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee – Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren CC by 2.0
Identification
Boreal Chickadees are small, round looking birds with a brown cap, brown back, dark gray wings, and buffy colored sides. They have a light underside, a black throat, and white cheeks. They make a very raspy “chickadee” call that sounds more coarse than that on the Black-capped Chickadee.
Range
Boreal Chickadees are year-round residents of Canada and Alaska. In the continental United States, there are only a few states that harbor these birds including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maine among others. In these places, Boreal Chickadees only inhabit the most northern parts of the states.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Boreal Chickadees feed on both insects and seeds. They will grip onto conifer cones and use their bills to open the cones and take the seeds inside. Boreal Chickadees search for insects on tree trunks and branches meticulously searching under bark and in crevices.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Maine.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Delaware, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee – Photo by Shenandoah National Park
Identification
Carolina Chickadees have a gray back and wings, buffy sides, and a light colored underside. They have a black cap, black chin, and white cheeks. They look incredibly identical to Black-capped Chickadees and in places where their ranges overlap are best identified by song.
Range
Carolina Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. Their range also extends into some of the northeastern and midwestern states as far up as Ohio and Delaware.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Carolina Chickadees inhabit a wide variety of different places including edge habitat, parks, backyards, and deciduous forests. They can often be heard before they are seen, making a cheerful chickadee call (which is more rapid than the Black-capped Chickadee) along with other sounds.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Delaware.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Illinois, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee – Photo by Shenandoah National Park
Identification
Carolina Chickadees have a gray back and wings, buffy sides, and a light colored underside. They have a black cap, black chin, and white cheeks. They look incredibly identical to Black-capped Chickadees and in places where their ranges overlap are best identified by song.
Range
Carolina Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. Their range also extends into some of the northeastern and midwestern states as far up as Ohio and Delaware.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Carolina Chickadees inhabit a wide variety of different places including edge habitat, parks, backyards, and deciduous forests. They can often be heard before they are seen, making a cheerful chickadee call (which is more rapid than the Black-capped Chickadee) along with other sounds.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Illinois.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Connecticut, there is one species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about that species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Connecticut
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Maryland, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee – Photo by Shenandoah National Park
Identification
Carolina Chickadees have a gray back and wings, buffy sides, and a light colored underside. They have a black cap, black chin, and white cheeks. They look incredibly identical to Black-capped Chickadees and in places where their ranges overlap are best identified by song.
Range
Carolina Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. Their range also extends into some of the northeastern and midwestern states as far up as Ohio and Delaware.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Carolina Chickadees inhabit a wide variety of different places including edge habitat, parks, backyards, and deciduous forests. They can often be heard before they are seen, making a cheerful chickadee call (which is more rapid than the Black-capped Chickadee) along with other sounds.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Maryland.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In New York, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis with one being extremely common and the other being extremely rare. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Boreal Chickadee (Rare)
Boreal Chickadee – Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren CC by 2.0
Identification
Boreal Chickadees are small, round looking birds with a brown cap, brown back, dark gray wings, and buffy colored sides. They have a light underside, a black throat, and white cheeks. They make a very raspy “chickadee” call that sounds more coarse than that on the Black-capped Chickadee.
Range
Boreal Chickadees are year-round residents of Canada and Alaska. In the continental United States, there are only a few states that harbor these birds including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maine among others. In these places, Boreal Chickadees only inhabit the most northern parts of the states.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Boreal Chickadees feed on both insects and seeds. They will grip onto conifer cones and use their bills to open the cones and take the seeds inside. Boreal Chickadees search for insects on tree trunks and branches meticulously searching under bark and in crevices.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of New York.
Chickadees are small, likable birds known for their friendliness and curiousness. In Wisconsin, there are two species that can be found in the state on an annual basis with one being extremely common and the other being extremely rare. Here is everything you need to know about those two species.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Identification
Black-capped Chickadees have a gray back and wings, tan wash on their sides, and black cap and throat. They have a light colored underside and white cheeks. In addition to visual identification clues, these birds make a variety of songs and notable calls including their springtime “cheeseburger” call and namesake “chickadee” call.
Range
Black-capped Chickadees are year-round residents of the Northern continental United States, southern Canada, and even parts of Alaska.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Black-capped Chickadees are fairly active feeders and eat different foods depending on the time of the year. During the warmer months when insects are more abundant, small invertebrates make up a larger part of their diet. In the winter, seeds, berries, and other plant matter make up a significantly larger portion of their diet.
Where to Find this Bird
Black-capped Chickadees are extremely common in areas with moderate to thick vegetation. This includes both deciduous and coniferous woods, parks, edge habitat, and backyards. They regularly visit bird feeders and are typically among the first species to find new feeders.
Boreal Chickadee (Rare)
Boreal Chickadee – Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren CC by 2.0
Identification
Boreal Chickadees are small, round looking birds with a brown cap, brown back, dark gray wings, and buffy colored sides. They have a light underside, a black throat, and white cheeks. They make a very raspy “chickadee” call that sounds more coarse than that on the Black-capped Chickadee.
Range
Boreal Chickadees are year-round residents of Canada and Alaska. In the continental United States, there are only a few states that harbor these birds including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maine among others. In these places, Boreal Chickadees only inhabit the most northern parts of the states.
Diet and Foraging Habits
Boreal Chickadees feed on both insects and seeds. They will grip onto conifer cones and use their bills to open the cones and take the seeds inside. Boreal Chickadees search for insects on tree trunks and branches meticulously searching under bark and in crevices.
Where to Find this Bird
True to their name, Boreal Chickadees can be found in Boreal forests, typically consisting of mostly coniferous trees. Often times, the best way to find them is to listen for their calls and try to triangulate their position from there.
Summary
Chickadees are always fun birds to see due to their cuteness and big personalities. We hope that this post has helped answer some questions about the chickadees of Wisconsin.
When fall draws to a close and winter takes its icy hold of the Northern United States, a new set of birds move in. While some of these birds aren’t as picky about where they spend their winter, others can only be found in a few select places: Especially the birds of Canada’s Boreal forests. One of the most well known places to find these birds, is the Zax Zim Bog. Located in northeastern Minnesota and boasting over 300 square miles of land Sax-Zim Bog contains a variety of different habitats, including deciduous forests, open meadows, lakes, rivers, and of course bogs. Out of all of these, it’s the tamarak and spruce bogs that are the biggest draw for the rarest boreal birds. Although there are many unique and exciting birds that call Saz-Zim home, 5 of them stand above the rest as signature species of the bog. Here are the top 5 birds to find at the Sax-Zim Bog.
5. Boreal Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
At number 5 on our list is the Boreal Chickadee. Boreal chickadees look very similar to black capped chickadees but with a brown cap, smaller white cheek patch, and cinnamon color on their sides. It isn’t their coloring that puts them in the top five but rather their elusive nature and scarcity. Boreal chickadees are harder to find than other chickadee species as they are generally less willing to come out in the open and prefer living in habitats that are less accessible. In fact, Boreal chickadees can typically only be found in the most northern states in the US and primarily reside in Canada and Alaska. In Sax Zim, these crafty birds sometimes come to feeders but they can also be found by driving the roads and listening for their raspy call. Even though tthe sax zim bog is one of the best places to see this species they can still be extremely hard to get a look at.
To see Boreal Chickadees in action, check out the videos above and below.
4. Black-backed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker by Matthew Thompson
Coming in at number 4 in our countdown is the black backed woodpecker. The black-backed woodpecker is a medium sized woodpecker with a namesake black back, white stripe on it’s face and black barring on it’s white underside. Males also have a yellow patch on their head. Black-backed woodpeckers look for forests that have recently been burned where they will then stay for a number of years as they feed on wood boring beetle larva. Much like the Boreal Chickadee, the Black-backed woodpecker’s range is mostly in Canada but does extend south into the lower 48 states in the far west and far east. In the Midwest, Nothern Minnesota is one of the few places to reliably find this species.
There is also another similar looking Woodpecker that can occasionally be found in Sax Zim, The American Three Toed woodpecker. The american three toed woodpecker doesn’t always inhabit the bog and can be found in the western united states with more regularity than it can at sax zim. For that reason, the black backed woodpecker gets the nod on our list over the American three-toed.
3. Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
While there are many rare birds that can be found in the sax zim bog, none generate more fanfare than the owl species. The first of them on our list is the Northern Hawk Owl at number 3. The Northern Hawk Owl is a medium sized owl with a brown back, barred chest, and black markings around their light gray face. This species typically resides in Northern Canada but occasionally makes it’s way south where it turns up in Boreal forests of the Northern United States. Northern Hawk Owls are diurnal and can be found perching up on the tops of trees in open woodlands as they survey the landscape, making them somewhat easy to locate if they are in the area. The Habitat in the Sax Zim Bog is perfect for these raptors and is one of the best places to find them.
2. Great Gray Owl
Great Gray Owl
The second owl on our ist us the great gray owl. The great gray owl is an unmistakable bird with a large facial disk, and overall gray color with white and brown accenting. Like the Northern Hawk Owl, this species is also at home in Canada and Alaska but does move south during winter, traveling greater distances when food is scarce. The great gray owl is one of the tallest owl species in North America but n spite of their large size they can be extremely difficult to to spot given their camouflage. The best time to find these birds is dawn and dusk while they are hunting most actively but they can also be seen perching up in trees during the daytime. Great Gray Owls prefer coniferous forests with open meadows and bogs where they can perch near the forests edge and hunt for small mammals.
1. Boreal Owl
Boreal Owl
At the top of our list is a bird that to many is the holy grail of sax zim bogs owl species. The Boreal owl looks like a pint sized version of a Northern Hawk owl with the same brown back, brown and white underside, and black around their facial disk. The Boreal owls range spans from Alaska accross the continent to eastern Canada and only dips into the US in a few places such as some of the western states. In the midwest, Northern Minnesota and Sax zim in particular are some of the only places to find them. However, Boreal Owls are not a sure thing at Sax Zim and years go by without the species being seen there. Another thing that makes the Boreal owl such a coveted species is that even if they are around, they aren’t easy to find. They are nocturnal hunters and usually roost in a different location each day, for that reason, pinning down the exact location of this bird can be a difficult task.
Visiting the Sax Zim Bog is certainly a memorable experience for those that make the trip . Not only is the scenery beautiful, but the birds that inhabit the snowy forests and meadows are among the most sought after in the entire midwest. This stellar combination makes the sax zim bog one of the hottest destinations to bird in, during the coldest time of the year. Do you agree with our list? Leave us a like and a comment below.
Top 5 Birds to find at the Sax Zim Bog
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