Bird field guide · Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

Photographing the Black-capped Chickadee

How to photograph the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus): the right lens for its size, shutter speeds for perched and moving animals, and when it's most often seen (March and April).

11–16 cm1/2500–1/3200 s

11–16 cm

Typical length (family range)

1/800 s

Shutter: perched / still

1/2500–1/3200 s

Shutter: action / flight

f/5.6–f/7.1

Aperture

148,145

Research-grade sightings in N. America

Recommended camera settings#

ModeManual + Auto ISOLock shutter & aperture, let ISO float

Shutter (still)1/800 s

Shutter (action)1/2500–1/3200 s

Aperturef/5.6–f/7.1

FocusAF-C + subject/eye detectionBird-eye AF with continuous focus (AF-C/AI Servo); fill at least a third of the frame.

DriveHigh-speed burst

Lens400–600 mmFull-frame equivalent

Focal length needed to frame it#

For a subject about 14 cm long filling a third or half of the frame width horizontally. Small birds demand long lenses and a close approach — a blind or feeder setup helps.

Distance	⅓ of frame (FF)	½ of frame (FF)	⅓ of frame (APS-C)	⅓ of frame (MFT)
5 m (16 ft)	404 mm	588 mm	270 mm	202 mm
10 m (33 ft)	809 mm	1,176 mm	539 mm	404 mm
15 m (49 ft)	1,213 mm	1,765 mm	809 mm	607 mm
20 m (66 ft)	1,618 mm	2,353 mm	1,078 mm	809 mm
30 m (98 ft)	2,426 mm	3,529 mm	1,618 mm	1,213 mm
50 m (164 ft)	4,044 mm	5,882 mm	2,696 mm	2,022 mm

When to find it#

Share of iNaturalist observations by month across North America. Peak months: March and April.

About the Black-capped Chickadee#

The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, nonmigratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia via iNaturalist (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Field-craft tips#

Very approachable at feeders — set up a natural perch near the feeder.
Winter flocks make them easy to find.
Bird-eye AF with continuous focus (AF-C/AI Servo); fill at least a third of the frame.
Sightings peak in March and April, which is when you'll have the most chances.

Ethics#

The welfare of the animal comes first: if it changes its behaviour because of you, you are too close.
Stay on trails, respect closures around nests, leks, dens and haul-outs.
Avoid playback and baiting in sensitive seasons; never bait predators.
Don't share precise locations of rare, nesting or roosting animals publicly.