Scientific Name: Poecile hudsonicus
Nest Type: Cavity
Nest Location: Coniferous trees, snags; 1-10'
Clutch Size: 4-9; avg. 5-8
Food: Insects, seeds
Foraging Guild: Foliage gleaner, bark gleaner
The Boreal Chickadee, formerly the Brown-capped Chickadee, is a rare to uncommon permanent resident throughout north-central and northeastern Minnesota
(Janssen 1987, Green and Niemi 1978), with populations fluctuating widely between years. The species has been reported to breed as far south as northern Aitkin
County and as far west as eastern Marshall and Roseau Counties. Infrequent irruptions in late September may result in permanent residents moving southward,
while immigrants into northern Minnesota may increase numbers in that region. Movements of residents as far south as Cottonwood, Hennepin, Martin, Stearns,
and Wabasha Counties can occur (Roberts 1932, Janssen 1987). These are often in association with mixed flocks of Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus),
kinglets, nuthatches and small woodpeckers (Ehrlich et al. 1988). These distributions may persist from early September to early March. Overall, the species is
distributed from Alaska, across Canada, northern portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and to northern New England (Peterson 1980).
Throughout their range, Boreal Chickadees breed in boreal coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous woodlands. In Minnesota this is best represented by the
black spruce-tamarack community. This habitat is typified by lowland areas dominated by black spruce, tamarack, and white cedar. In these areas, the subcanopy is
sparse, the understory poorly developed, and the herbaceous layer well represented, usually by mosses. It can also be found in deciduous uplands, but the presence
of balsam fir, white spruce, or pine are necessary. Breeding may also take place in more open, ericaceous-muskeg bog communities (Green and Niemi 1978). In
Michigan, breeding Boreal Chickadees were found in sparse jack pines, bordered by spruce, tamarack, and leatherleaf bogs (Walkinshaw and Dyer 1954). Gillespie
and Kendeigh (1982) found Boreal Chickadees to be a forest interior species, avoiding forest edge habitats.
Boreal Chickadees construct their nest in cavities, either natural, woodpecker-excavated, or in some cases, excavated on their own. One clutch of 5-8 eggs is laid
per year. Both parents care for the young, with the male performing the bulk of the feeding immediately after hatching. Their diet includes seeds, insects, and
spiders and their eggs, which they glean from the bark and foliage of the vegetation (Ehrlich et al. 1988). In general, they are more generalized in feeding than the
Black-capped Chickadee and also forage higher in the vegetation (Rabenold 1978).
The Boreal Chickadee was classified as a species associated with mature, coniferous forests, and a cavity-dependent species. Little is known about the trends of this
species in Minnesota. The species only occurred on four of the Breeding Bird Survey roadside count routes run by the USFWS.
Boreal Chickadee populations can be expected to decline if forestry practices result in reductions of conifer or mixed boreal forest. Indirect declines in Boreal
Chickadee populations may potentially be caused by reductions in populations of primary cavity nesting species which provide suitable nest cavities for this species.