West · Central Flyway

Chickadees in Colorado

Chickadees in Colorado come down to 2 species with regular eBird records, led by the Black-capped Chickadee. Together they account for 570,859 of the 16 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 3.5% of everything reported in the state.

The full list: Black-capped Chickadee and Mountain Chickadee. Chickadees are the small, round, black-capped birds that visit feeders all winter and lead the mixed flocks of nuthatches and kinglets moving through the woods. Each region has its own species, and their ranges barely overlap.

Black-capped Chickadee, the most-reported of the chickadees in Colorado on eBird — Black-capped Chickadee, the most-reported chickadee in Colorado. Photo: Dawn Huczek from USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

2Species regularly recorded

2Year-round residents

0Seasonal visitors

570,859eBird records analysed

Chickadees in Colorado: every species, most-reported first

Every chickadee with at least 25 eBird records in the state from 2020–2024, most-reported first. The status label is derived from each species’ own monthly share of all state records.

Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillusYear-round403,080 eBird records · 2.5% of state records

Mountain ChickadeePoecile gambeliYear-round167,779 eBird records · 1.0% of state records

1. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) — 403,080 records, 2.5% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.

2. Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) — 167,779 records, 1.0% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.

When to see chickadees in Colorado

Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, chickadees are most prominent in February, January and December and least in May and June. All of the 2 species are year-round — Black-capped Chickadee and Mountain Chickadee — so there is no month without them.

Attracting chickadees to Colorado backyards

Black-oil sunflower seed, suet, and a nest box with a small entrance hole are the three things chickadees want. They are among the first birds to find a new feeder and among the tamest at it.

In Colorado the chickadee most likely to turn up is the Black-capped Chickadee, a year-round resident, followed by the Mountain Chickadee. Its own page covers month-by-month activity and attraction tips for this state.

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Chickadees in Colorado: FAQ

How many species of chickadees are there in Colorado?

2 species of chickadees have regular eBird records in Colorado (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Black-capped Chickadee and Mountain Chickadee.

What is the most common chickadee in Colorado?

The Black-capped Chickadee, with 403,080 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Mountain Chickadee with 167,779. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.

When is the best time to see chickadees in Colorado?

Any time of year — every chickadee regularly recorded in Colorado is a year-round resident. Their combined share of eBird records is highest in February, January and December.

Are there chickadees in Colorado?

Yes. the Black-capped Chickadee (403,080 eBird records, year-round) and the Mountain Chickadee (167,779 eBird records, year-round) are regularly recorded in Colorado.

Chickadees in Colorado: sources

Every number on this page comes from the EOD – eBird Observation Dataset published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and distributed through GBIF under a CC BY 4.0 license: Colorado records from 2020–2024, retrieved 2026-09-18. Species are drawn from the families Paridae; only species with at least 25 records are listed, and a species is called a year-round resident when its monthly share of state records stays above 30% of its own peak in ten or more months. “Records” are individual eBird observations, so they reflect how often birders report a species, not a population count.