Chestnut-backed Chickadee in February

February still feels like deep winter, but days are lengthening and the first stirrings of the breeding season begin — resident birds start singing on mild mornings and some early nesters are already claiming territories. Late-winter storms can be the hardest feeding days of the year.

For the Chestnut-backed Chickadee specifically, February is a winter month of relative routine, with the species settled into its seasonal pattern across its range. Across the 7 states and provinces where chestnut-backed chickadees occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

year-round resident

Northern states & Canada

absent

In February, chestnut-backed chickadees are absent in the South, year-round resident across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.

Chestnut-backed chickadees are not nesting in February. The season runs April–June at mid-latitudes.

That makes February a useful month for nest-box work: cleaning out old nesting material, checking mounts and predator guards, and making repairs while boxes are empty. A box that's ready early gets claimed early.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee nest box dimensions and mounting →

• Conifer seeds

A bird of wet Pacific conifer forest; forages high in Douglas fir and hemlock.

Don't let feeders run empty during late-winter storms; birds burn enormous energy staying warm. This is also the month to clean and repair nest boxes before early nesters move in.

Full Chestnut-backed Chickadee diet guide → · Best feeder for chestnut-backed chickadees →

Chestnut-backed chickadees are settled and predictable in February, which makes this a good month to learn the bird's routine — same feeders, same perches, same times of day.

If you have a Chestnut-backed Chickadee box up, this is the month to make sure it's clean, secure and ready — the box guide below has the exact hole size and mounting height this species needs.

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