This is the first time I've had a Mountain Chickadee as a yard bird!
We have several Black-capped Chickadees around our home and I enjoy hearing them calling outside, even when I am indoors. Chickadees just make me happy. Having another kind of Chickadee in my yard is just cool!
Identification of Mountain Chickadees is pretty simple. I just look for that white eyebrow. That is the easiest and quickest characteristic to separate it from all other chickadees. Their calls are similar to B-C Chickadees, but different. Mountain Chickadees seem to me to be a bit smaller too.
Black-capped Chickadee |
Here are a couple other views of the Mountain Chickadee I enjoyed in my backyard the other day.
Here's a post from a few months back about Carolina Chickadees and how they compare to Black-capped Chickadees.
I had my very first BC chickadee in my yard this winter season too. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! We have lots of BC Chickadees visiting our feeders but I have never seen a Mountain Chickadee before. So very cute. Chickadees are certainly a joy to observe. So very curious and tame. Enjoy your new guests!
ReplyDelete@ABranch - Now that you mention it...I hadn't thought about it before...but this yard is my first that can boast the Black-capped Chickadee on my yard list. So both BC and Mtn are new yard birds for me!
ReplyDelete@Julie G - The Mtn. Chickadee does seem a lot more skittish than the BC's, but I when camping in the mtns of Idaho and Utah, I've been able to call in Mtn. Chickadees and they come to within feet of you. Pretty cool!
We are lousy with Black-capped Chickadees here. They are the only chickadee I've ever seen. Mountains are so cute, congrats on getting it on your yard list!
ReplyDelete@Amy - Thanks for dropping by Birding is Fun! and for leaving a comment. Here's to wishing you see many varieties of chickadees in the future.
ReplyDeleteI also have a yard full of BC Chickadees but have never seen a Mountain..I thought I had one in the yard last spring but it turned out to be a Black-throated Gray Warbler.
ReplyDelete@YsMum - Now I would love to see a Black-throated Gray Warbler anywhere!
ReplyDeleteLovely pics! I have never seen a Mountain Chickadee before - they are a world away for me. Next on my wish list, to see a Boreal Chickadee in Northern VT.
ReplyDelete@Hilke, I'm with ya on hoping to see the Boreal Chickadee.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things about living along the Wasatch Front is that overlap in species seen from valley birds to mountian birds! How exciting!
ReplyDelete@Kathiesbirds Amen to that! This mountain + lake zone of habitat is pretty cool.
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