It appears that chickadee numbers or at their lowest in 15 years. You can help gather data on their whereabouts by joining the Project Feeder Watch survey or the Breeding Bird Survey
Welcome to this week's edition of Something Wild. I'm Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
The black-capped chickadee is the number one feeder bird in New Hampshire. While I don't know anyone who doesn't like this two-toned dynamo, I'm not talking about its popularity.
According to Project FeederWatch, a volunteer monitoring program run by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the chickadee is the bird most likely to show up for your sunflower seeds and suet. It visits 99% of birdfeeders in the Granite State.
Other chickadee news, however, is not as upbeat. Apparently, last winter they were at their lowest number in fifteen years.
Now sometimes, like two winters ago, the black-capped birds just take their time before showing up at feeders. For example, it was well into mid-winter before the chickadees reappeared, much to the relief of NH nature lovers. In that case, the birds were most likely lingering over the abundant wild foods before they began scarfing up human handouts.
Last winter unfortunately, appears to be different. Chickadee numbers remained low throughout the season. So it wasn't just an abundance of berries. Something else is going on. FeederWatch numbers indicate, in fact, that chickadee numbers have been dropping since the mid-1990s.
Interestingly, the Audubon Society's Breeding Bird Survey does not show a decrease in chickadee numbers. This survey is conducted each summer and is believed to be more accurate than feeder counts. But biologists don't really know what is happening to these birds between summer and winter. Some speculate that chickadee's short-distance migration patterns are shifting.
With any luck, these discrepancies will prompt more research. Nevertheless, while their numbers are down, chickadees are not in danger of disappearing anytime soon.
You can help by getting involved in the annual FeederWatch or helping out New Hampshire Audubon?s various surveys. Visit the Something Wild section of nhpr.org to get more details.
And everyone at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire wishes you a Happy Holiday.
For Something Wild, I'm Rosemary Conroy.
