Black-capped Chickadee sings Cheese-burger

All spring, three or four of these little black-capped chickadee birds have been frequenting the suet cake feeders and singing in the forest. They have a number of calls and songs, but their “cheese-burger” song is by far the most charming. This rendition was recorded near the Clarion River in early April:

To hear the black-capped chickadee sing cheeseburger next spring, head to Tom’s Run Road in Cook Forest State Park in mid-April. For more information on the birds, and additional sound recordings, visit these pages on Audubon & the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which provides this fact:

Every autumn Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons…

Want to attract black-capped chickadees?

To bring black-capped chickadees to your own yard, follow a few simple tips that will also help other local wildlife. If you know the CFC, you know that we love birds, and creating good habitat for all the creatures of western Pennsylvania. Here’s a quick overview:

provide habitat – plant natives, and leave dead trees and bramble patches
provide attractive feeding, watering, & nesting sites
minimize predators – especially housecats (any cats, whether yours or feral), which injure all sort of critters when let outdoors

For further details on the habits and habitats of black-capped chickadees, and how to attract them to your yard (and improve your little piece of the area’s ecosystem generally), see this post:

Our thanks to Alain Yvan Séguin, Member of the Wild Birds Unlimited group, for the stunning black-capped chickadee photo, and to onthefeeder.com for reaching out about expanding this article 🙂