November 8, 2007
Here, chicka-dee-dee-dee
There's nothing as snuggly as a home made from PVC pipe. At least that's what black-capped chickadees seem to think, according to my friend Susan Sharbaugh, who earned a degree studying Alaska chickadees.
A short while back, she fitted some black-caps with tiny transmitters in an attempt to see where these birds, as light as a handful of paper clips, spend their 18-hour nights. She tracked a radio signal to a tiny crevice in a birch tree, and in the morning saw the bird blast out of it. Before that, nobody had documented where these guys survived nights that can get down to minus 56 (the coldest temp. I've seen in 21 years, during the snap of '89).
Susan has experimented with woman-made roost designs and found a 3 inch plastic PVC pipe with insulated ends is the one black-caps seem to prefer. You drill a precise 1-and-1/8th inch hole in the plastic and fill it with wood chips, which satisfy the chickadee's desire to escavate, Susan says.
On a daddy-daughter night, Anna and I made one. She mostly pulled stuff off tables while I ran the cordless drill.
Anyhow, we got 'er done and now the roost is hanging on a spruce tree only about 20 feet from the house. Is a chickadee in there tonight, shivering itself warm? I don't know. Tomorrow I'll keep an eye on the hole about an hour before sunrise, at 8 a.m., when it should be light enough for those guys to show. Will a tiny body come shooting out of that hole, ready to face the day?
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Comments on Here, chicka-dee-dee-dee »
I have been enjoying the twice daily visit of chickadees to my seed "trough", as I call it. I have both black-capped and boreals visiting me, as well as an occasional redpoll and woodpecker. I also have two suet cakes hanging in the trees, but they seem to prefer the sunflower seeds most of all.
I love the idea of a PVC shelter! Perhaps I'll give it a try myself. I've often wondered where the chickadees go at night, and it would be nice to know they're staying warm.
(A friend pointed me to your link)
Susan;
From the birds you described coming to your feeder, I'm guessing you live in the boreal forest, probably way far north, probably Fairbanks.
So far, no chickadees have overnighted in our PVC shelter. But you can bet I'll check every morning.
Thanks for the note;
Ned
I watch the little darlings also,and am happy to know that something can be done to help them survive the winters.
I wonder how long/tall Susan makes the pvc and how high up from the ground she hangs them. I assume that the 3" is diameter. Can you buy black pipe or does she paint them?
Thanks for the info.
Shirley
Hi Ned-
Giving these tough birds a room overnight is great. But I'm also interested in providing them with nest boxes this spring. Do you have any idea what kind of house chickadees would be interested in here in Fairbanks?
-By
By;
Check with the Alaska Bird Observatory. I think they have instruction sheets for chickadee nest boxes. My neighbor Dave made some. They are the size of half a shoe box and have a hole about 1.5 inches in diameter, along with a dowel rod for a perching post. Males were showing them off to the females last spring, popping in and out of the hole, but I'm not sure if they nested there.
Good luck,
Ned
Shirley;
You're right about the three-inch pipe. You can buy it black here in Fairbanks. It's about six inches long, and you hang it about eye level. By the way, I don't think I've had anyone roosting in mine since I wrote this post. Maybe tonight . . .