Michelle Witte, Nederland. Chicka dee dee dee! The Mountain Chickadees’ alarm call is a common sound in our local Nederland forests all year round, and it’s where these small birds gain their namesake. The “chickadee dee dee” call is made by the birds to alert one another of predators, or to protect their territory. You’ll have to wait until Spring to hear their mating call that seems like they are requesting a “cheeseburger”, as the three-note call sounds much like the name of a favorite post-hiking meal. 

The Mountain Chickadee is one of 513 recorded bird species in Colorado, which is a pretty impressive number for a landlocked state. We have the great diversity of the Centennial State to thank for that; ample variety of habitat is available throughout the state. Boulder County has an exciting 411 species on record that spend all or some of their time here throughout the year. 

Winter is not often thought of as the best time for birding in the Rockies, but you might be surprised to hear that over 200 species overwinter or stay year-round in Colorado. Like all mountain residents, year-round nesters have to be resilient and resourceful. Many raptors, songbirds, woodpeckers, and more species tough it out through the harshest months of the year. 

The strategies these strong birds use to find food and shelter vary from bird to bird. Some birds, like the Chickadee, will cache seeds much like squirrels or chipmunks. Corvids (Stellar jays, crows, ravens) will often steal food from chickadees’ caches or scavenge for the leftovers of a carnivore’s last meal.  Woodpeckers are highly skilled at finding bugs hiding under tree bark. Raptors of the Rockies are fine-tuned hunters no matter the season, even finding prey hiding under the snow. Many raptors will migrate to our region from farther north to take advantage of lower temps and higher resource availability than that of Canada or the Arctic. Winter is actually a great time to spot several hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. Have you spotted any lately?

Over Winter, birds not only have to be clever when it comes to finding food, they also have to outsmart the cold temperatures and snow to find a safe shelter to roost in. Birds that choose to live in cavities (holes in trees made by woodpeckers) have an advantage of the bark as insulation. Other birds, like many song birds, which are typically quite solitary, will roost together--sometimes even several different species together in a mixed flock--to stay warm. Most birds will also grow extra down feathers for warmth, like a puffy jacket for the winter months. Birds are endothermic; they are warm-blooded and maintain a constant, high body temperature of average 106 degrees, by producing heat internally. This gives them an advantage in colder months with their bodies self-regulating to keep them warm.

At first glance, it may seem like the season to put the binoculars away and wait until Spring to whip out the field guide again. However, the many wonders of birds in Winter are waiting for you just outside your doorstep. So, layer up, get some hot tea to go, strap on the snowshoes and head into the woods for a journey. You may find that the stillness and quiet of nature in the Winter months feeds you in a way that the Summer sun often overshadows.

Michelle Witte is the Nature Education Director at Wild Bear Nature Center in Nederland. 

(Originally published in the December 24, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)