Black-Capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus

These birds are nonmigratory. Their expected range stretches over much of North America, from central and southern Alaska, across the southern half of Canada to the Atlantic coast. The southern end of their range is from Oregon, Idaho, northern Utah, Colorado, and across the Great Plains through the Ohio Valley, the Appalachians, and New England. The maps I reviewed showed northern New Mexico as the southern limit of their range, but I met them on several occasions along the Rio Grande near Albuquerque.
Similar to other members of the chickadee clan, the Black-Capped Chickadee’s plaintiff “Hey Sweetie” song is a fond reminder of the woodlands they love. Well known and beloved for their bold nature and curiosity, many people have tempted these cute little bundles of energy to take food from their hands.
Science recognises seven subspecies of Black-Capped Chickadee:
- P. a. bartletti lives in Canada’s Maritime Provinces.
- P. a. atricapillus lives from southeastern Manitoba through central Quebec to Maritime Provinces and south to central Kansas and Missouri, to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and south along Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina.
- P. a. septentrionalis lives from southern Yukon (Canada) and through most of British Columbia east to central Manitoba, and eastern slopes of the Cascades, to southern Oregon, central Idaho, northern Montana, and south, east of the Rocky Mountains, to central Colorado and Kansas.
- P. a. garrinus lives in the Rocky Mountain region from central Idaho, and south-central Montana south to southern Utah and northern New Mexico.
- P. a. nevadensis lives in the Great Basin from southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho, and south to northern Nevada.
- P. a. occidentalis lives on the Pacific slope of British Columbia to northern California.
- P. a. turneri lives in south-central Alaska.
Chickadees in my southern California home range are Mountain Chickadees. In my travels, I’ve found pleasure in the company of Black-Capped Chickadees on the coasts of northern California and Oregon, in Alberta (Canada), in New Mexico, Montana, and in Wyoming. My first meeting with the Black-Capped Chickadee was in Jackson Wyoming, and the image I captured on film helped inspire me to pursue bird photography seriously.

Black-capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: Charlie Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. |
Date Taken: 2005:06:09 14:19 |
Location:
Charlie Lake |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 490 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 |
File Name: JCD3945BlackCappedChickadee |
© 2005 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: This meeting took place while I was attending the "Photography At The Summit" seminar in Jackson Wyoming in November 2001. |
Date Taken: 2001:11:09 9:21 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 4000 ED, |
File Name: A1J09b03-BlackCappedChickadee |
© 2001 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: As seen from Skyline Drive outside of Pine Cove Wyoming. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:14 9:22 |
Location:
Skyline Drive |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/500 |
File Name: D3X2354-BlackCappedChickadee |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: A confiding bird in my friend's yard in the Bitterroot Valley near Stevensville, Montana. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:25 8:12 |
Location:
Bitterroot Court |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X4395-BlackCappedChickadee |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: A confiding bird in my friend's yard in the Bitterroot Valley near Stevensville, Montana. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:25 8:17 |
Location:
Bitterroot Court |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: D3X4418-BlackCappedChickadee |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: Tuesday at 10,600’ the chickadees I met were Mountain Chickadees. Now Wednesday, at 4900’ it was Black-Capped Chickadees. The Rio Grande Nature Center is one of my favorite locations to visit when I’m in Albuquerque. This was my first winter visit, and it did not disappoint. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:17 12:56 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X8157-RioGrandeNatureCenter-ABQ |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: Tuesday at 10,600’ the chickadees I met were Mountain Chickadees. Now Wednesday, at 4900’ it was Black-Capped Chickadees. The Rio Grande Nature Center is one of my favorite locations to visit when I’m in Albuquerque. This was my first winter visit, and it did not disappoint. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:17 12:18 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X7992-RioGrandeNatureCenter-ABQ |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: Tuesday at 10,600’ the chickadees I met were Mountain Chickadees. Now Wednesday, at 4900’ it was Black-Capped Chickadees. The Rio Grande Nature Center is one of my favorite locations to visit when I’m in Albuquerque. This was my first winter visit, and it did not disappoint. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:17 12:11 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X7953-RioGrandeNatureCenter-ABQ |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: On Friday, my friend Jerry and I visited the riparian grove next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico is called a bosque. Mountain Chickadees were among the birds we met along the hiking and biking trails that weave through the Cottonwood and Mulberry trees. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:15 12:03 |
Location:
Tingley Beach |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D507768-TingleyBeach-ABQ |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: On Friday, my friend Jerry and I visited the riparian grove next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico is called a bosque. Mountain Chickadees were among the birds we met along the hiking and biking trails that weave through the Cottonwood and Mulberry trees. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:15 11:57 |
Location:
Tingley Beach |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D507739-TingleyBeach-ABQ |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: I met these birds in Crescent City California near the lighthouse for the harbor, where they were feasting on aphids. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 10:11 |
Location:
Battery Point |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X1804-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: I met these birds in Crescent City California near the lighthouse for the harbor. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 9:57 |
Location:
Battery Point |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X1783-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Black-Capped Chickadee(Poecile atricapillus) |
Description: Roadside stop at Sisters Rocks, north of Ophir Oregon to the side of US-101. |
Date Taken: 2017:09:08 15:14 |
Location:
Sisters Rocks |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: BlackCappedChickadee_D5X0174-Ophir-Oregon |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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