Chickadees and Titmice

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus
The Black-capped Chickadees came in flocks of fifty, flocks of a hundred, all flying eastward, low along the lakeshore. Flock after flock after flock, “hedge-hopping between hedgerows, groves and orchards, or flying over open country and over Braddock Bay’s spits” Harry Van Beurden reported. They presented an “amazing sight.” The numbers tallied during that memorable irruption between 9 October and mid November 1954 were pretty amazing too: at least 30,000 – a “totally unprecedented” number. (GNR) And that may have been only the tip of the iceberg.Van Beurden and Walt Listman positioned themselves along a 900-foot hedgerow that ran parallel to the lake, about 200 feet from the shore, next to Payne Beach Road. It was the only east-west hedgerow north of the parkway, and the chickadees streamed along it. There were 10,500 on 9 October, 12,000 on 12 October and another 4,500 on 17 October. “The watchers report that the individuals counted passed between them along a hedge row even when they were standing only three or four feet apart,” John Brown noted. “They believe their estimate that between 10 and 12 thousand chickadees passed Payne Beach on both days is ultra-conservative.” (BA, 14 October 1954) The two based their estimates on five-minute counts at different times during the three days, one counting, the other writing, supplemented with 15-minute tallies. On 9 October, for example, the birds were passing at the rate of 13 to 49 per minute. After much discussion, they settled on an average of 25 birds per minute for the seven hours. “How far inland the flight extended is unknown, but some migrants were noted at least one-fourth mile inland at Shore Acres,” Van Beurden noted. “Flights started soon after dawn, and since observations cover only the period until two in the afternoon it is not known how late the migration continued.” The flights occurred on sunny, moderate days when the wind was from the south, west or southwest up to 15 mph. No migration was observed on rainy days or when the wind was from the north or east.There were many favorable days in October but the observers could be in the field on only a few of them, and could cover only the one hedgerow, so “it can be said that many went unrecorded.”And then, to top it all off, it happened again in 1961…
Background
This familiar bird is a permanent resident from coast to coast, including much of Canada and the northern two-thirds of the United States. Their winter survival skills include an “exceptional spatial memory” that allows them to cache food supplies, and then not only relocate them, but differentiate which caches contain the highest protein food. Winter birds include “floaters,” which may associate with three to five different flocks – and have an established place in the hierarchy of each. Irruptions of young birds seem tied to fluctuations in northern seed crops (BNA 39: 1, 3, 5)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a common resident in Monroe, Livingston and Wayne counties. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to 25 birds, with a maximum count of 50. Interesting is this description in one of Horsey’s and Edson’s weekly bird columns in December 1928: “This is a resident species in this state . . . but some years the birds are almost impossible to find, and other years, this being one of them, one will find them in considerable numbers in every suitable locality, especially in the Winter, when they come around buildings and cultivated areas. In the late Spring they retire to swampy wooded country to nest and rear their young.” (“Chickadee, Hard to Find Some Years, Plentiful This Winter,” D&C, 24 December 1928)Certainly Genesee Ornithological Society members had no trouble finding this species when they took 1,665 outings from 1951-1954 within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. Analyzing the results, Leo Tanghe found this species reported 1,178 times, with average counts reaching 700-1000 in early October, probably reflecting the irruption mentioned above. (KB 5: 69: 5A-5B)In 1953, Tanghe listed this as a common breeder in the Rochester area, specifically listing the Burroughs-Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and Powder Mill Park as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a common permanent resident and, in some years, an abundant spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) also considered this a common permanent resident.
Occurrence
Spring: This was the third most common species banded in spring by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during the period 1999-2006, thanks primarily to three strong flights – 395 birds banded in 2000, another 514 in 2002, and 1,014 in 2006, accounting for more than 90 percent of the 2,013 chickadees banded during all eight years.The 2000 and 2002 results suggest a return flight, because large numbers had been banded the previous fall. That was not the case in 2006, however.
Summer/breeding status: This is an adaptable species, preferring woods but also nesting “in more open habitats such as orchards, suburban neighborhoods and city parks.” (Andrle, p. 288) One pair picked a knothole, deep in the trunk of an old pear tree in Frank Dobson’s yard in 1983. “The hole was only thirty inches off the ground and about three feet from a busy driveway, with a constant stream of people, cars and lawnmowers passing by . . .” (Birds, 31 July 1983) The Breeding Bird Atlas projects were quite similar in finding evidence of breeding in virtually every block in the region, with a high percentage of “confirmeds.”

When opening up nest cavities, Chickadees are careful to fly off a short distance before releasing the material they’ve excavated. Presumably this helps conceal the nest location. On 4 May 1997, a breeze from the west thwarted one chickadee busily excavating a hole in Badgerow Park. “It is comical to watch one fly to a branch just west with a mouthful of sawdust, release it, and see it blow right back under the cavity.” (Marcotte diary entry)
Fall: Chickadees are usually considered non-migratory. However, periodic fall irruptions occur along the Lake Ontario shoreline, perhaps triggered by low seed crops in northern boreal forests. Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 4th with 2,165 birds taken from the nets.Seven years after the influx witnessed by Listman and VanBeurden, “25 birds hit the banding nets in (Gerhard) Leubner’s back yard in Irondequoit” on 30 September, indicating another major influx might be in progress. “After due consideration,” observers chose Oklahoma Beach, a quarter mile east of Irondequoit Bay outlet, as a vantage point. On 5 October, 503 chickadees were tallied between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m. by Mary Ann Sunderlin and Louise Zeitler. The next day, more than 7,500 were counted by Sunderlin and Mrs. Thomas McNett during just under five hours of observation. On 8 October, the vantage point was manned continually by about 10 birders from 7:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. A total of 17,166 chickadees were counted and 6,860 more estimated. In three peak days, 31,870 birds were tallied “and there must have been many thousands that passed when no observers were present,” Howard Miller noted. Altogether, about 42,000 were tallied 6-12 October.Interestingly, these birds were going west, in the opposite direction from the birds in 1954. “This flight seemed to turn inland just east of or over Rochester,” Miller noted. “There was no comparable flight in either direction at Manitou or other nearby points. . . Between Oct. 7 and 15 small flocks were observed passing regularly over the heart of Rochester, almost always in a southerly direction.” (KB 11:198)John Brown reported that “apparently the flight left the lake shore around Durand-Eastman Park and moved inland on a southwesterly course. Large numbers (were) reported in the Spencerport area during the week.” (BA, 19 October 1961)“Likeliest explanation of these chickadee invasions is population pressure. They have occurred in years when the food supply seemed to be ample and in years when temperatures have been mild, more or less ruling out weather and hunger as factors.” (BA, 3 October 1968)When another, lighter fall flight of chickadees was observed moving eastward over Braddock’s Bay in 1968, Miller observed, “some at least are observed passing this point every fall. About ten miles east of here, the flights turn south over the city of Rochester, although even during heavy migrations the subsequent direction of the flight south of Rochester is poorly marked. …Frequently there is a flight westward across Irondequoit Bay and then south over the city.” (KB19: 28)Another irruption in October 1975 produced a maximum count of 2,280 at Braddock Bay on the 15th (KB26: 38); the Listmans tallied anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 each of four straight days on the 21st through the 24th at Point Breeze. (LG, November 1975)Two years later an estimated 10,000 moved along the lakeshore 24-31 October, peaking on 27 October when 763 were tallied in 45 minutes at Braddock Bay. (KB28: 41) Members of two field trips during this invasion noted chickadees “everywhere – in the woods, along the Lake Ontario State Parkway and moving down hedgerows, all going from west to east,” John Brown reported. (BA, 9 November 1977)As many as 1,200 per hour were tallied by Norm Henderson from 6-10 November 1980 at Braddock Bay. (GOS, January 1981)Another strong movement occurred roughly 13 October to 12 November 2001 when more than 1,500 were banded at Manitou, including 380 on the 13th. Bob McKinney’s inquiries later revealed this movement was confined primarily to the immediate lakeshore. People with feeders farther inland had not noticed any unusual traffic.Moreover, banding stations along the north shore of Lake Erie reported only normal numbers. However, a station at the north end of the Bruce Peninsula, which runs north-south between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay were “capturing so many chickadees they couldn’t handle them all.” About 95 percent of the captured birds that McKinney was able to “age” were chickadees born that same year. (BBBO Newsletter, Spring 2002)
Winter:

Misc.
This is one of our most inquisitive songbirds. Spishing will often bring these acrobatic little songsters right up to an observer. “During the winter months especially,” Bull noted, “the Black-capped Chickadee is one of the tamest and most confiding of birds, a frequent visitor at the feeding station, sometimes taking food from the hand.” (Bull, p. 401)Added Eaton: “In actions he is nearly as restless as the kinglets, flying almost continually from twig to twig and indulging in acrobatic feats, hanging head downward or clinging to the bark of trees in search of hibernating insects and eggs which may be hidden in the crevices of buds and bark. When flying from twig to twig there is commonly a muffled fluff-fluff of the wings as he proceeds with jerky flight and pumping tail from one location to another.” (Eaton II: 504)Frank Dobson, a careful observer of the birds attracted to his Greece backyard, wrote how chickadees feeding on sunflower seeds were “never lingering longer than it took to fly in, pick up a seed and depart.” Typically, one would fly to a nearby perch, “where it clamped a seed under one foot and banged away with tiny bill until the meat was freed. Then it was right back to the feeder again.” (Birds, 19 February 1984) First prize for acrobatics goes to a chickadee in Dobson’s yard that had just captured an insect. A House Sparrow went after the chickadee, “to relieve it of its prey,” Dobson related. “But the chickadee put an abrupt halt to the pursuit, by folding its wings and diving right through a chain link fence. The sparrow pulled up short and the chickadee was long gone.” (Birds, 9 September 1990)It is hard not to become enamored of these sprightly, inquisitive birds. They provide endless joy at bird feeders. Their vocalizations are a great help to fall birders, signaling the presence warblers, vireos and other migrants, with whom they roam the woods in small flocks. Above all, they are tremendous “ambassadors,” providing many their first contact with the world of birds.For example, some of Carmen Gumina’s high school biology students – who had vowed never to become “boring, bird-nerds” when they reached the age of 30 – came away with a somewhat different point of view after an outing along the Birdsong Trail at Mendon Ponds Park in 1996. “I taught my audience how to ‘spish’ and they were really impressed when the birds popped up for a peak,” Gumina related. Off they marched, students maintaining a “perpetual ‘spish’ as we trekked down the trail,” inventing new variations of “rap-spishing” and “heavy-metal spishing.” It didn’t deter the birds one bit; Gumina’s students “wore looks of sheer wonder” as the nuthatches and chickadees fed from their hands. “Two girls even had chickadees feeding from the top of their heads.” A planned 30-minute hike turned into a two-hour feeding frenzy – and left the students, once jaded at the prospect of birding, sharing stories afterwards. (LG, March 1996) Banded birds: One banded at Manitou on 8 May 1991, “dropped into a fishing boat” on 13 May 1991 about 2 ½ miles off Somerset, NY, after apparently becoming disoriented in fog. “The exhausted bird was revived with drops of fresh water, allowed to rest, caught midges from the tip of a fishing rod, and when the fog lifted two hours later, took off in a SSE direction toward land.” (LG, November 1991)Another banded at Manitou on 11 May 1987 moved 70 miles east in five days before being recaptured at Noyes Nine Mile Point Sanctuary northwest of Syracuse. (LG, September 1988) There appears to have been a direct line between the Manitou banding station and Bill Symonds’ house in Clarkson about 14 miles to the southwest. Two birds banded at Manitou on, respectively, 1 and 2 November 1987 were subsequently caught and released by Symonds on 22 and 25 November that same year at his home. (LG, January 1988) The birds spent the winter, one being retrapped 12 times between November and 1 March, the other 10 times by 28 April. (LG, February 1989)Another banded at Hamlin Beach on 13 September 2000 was recaptured the following 28 April at Manitou. (LG, February 2002)

Boreal Chickadee

(formerly Hudsonian/Acadian Chickadee, Brown-capped Chickadee)Poecile hudsonica
When Gertrude Davis heard a chickadee call in Mendon Ponds Park on 24 March 1970, she instinctively did what any veteran birder would do: She made a “spee” noise, also known as “spishing.” Imagine her delight when not one, but three Boreal Chickadees appeared from a grove of conifers. The first to appear was “probably was no more than six feet from me and about six feet up from the ground on a bare branch of a shrub or small tree.” The lighting was excellent, so she could easily compare the plumages of the three Boreals with the Black-capped Chickadee accompanying them. Especially noticeable was the brown cap contrasting with the black bib, and “more rust color on the flanks.” Later, one of the Boreals sang a “chickadee-like” song, but “higher pitched and squeakier;” the bird also seemed more deliberate in its movements, Davis reported. (GOS, May 1970)
Background
Formerly known as Hudsonian, Acadian and Brown-capped Chickadee, this northern counterpart of Black-capped is also noted for its tameness and ability to live near human habitations. It is “one of the few passerines with a range almost completely restricted to the boreal forests of Canada and adjacent portions of the United States,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Though considered nonmigratory, this species periodically irrupts southward out of its range, usually in autumn, with some indications of a weak return in spring. Most birds collected during irruptions in Massachusetts and farther south were less than a year old; irruptions in New York, Massachusetts and Ohio were associated with major southward movements of Black-capped Chickadees. In at least some years these movements appear related to food shortages. There are few reliable population trends for this species. It is apparently never abundant in any part of its range, but may be increasing in areas of reforestation. Moreover, since it prefers forests growing on poor soils, it is not likely to be affected by deforestation for agricultural purposes. (BNA 254: 1, 4, 17)
Local history
Eaton (1914) cited a small flock 29 November 1894 at Charlotte (Eaton II: 507). Individual “Acadian” chickadees, possibly all the same bird, were reported on five separate dates from 11 December 1913-16 January 1914 at Highland Park, Horsey and Edson noted (Horsey; WBR, 5 December 1949). On 2 January it “was seen in the barberry collection during a wet snow storm when the snow clung to everything it touched and made Mr. Horsey and myself very uncomfortable; but the chickadee seemed to be quite happy,” Edson noted (WBR, 17 Jan 1955).Horsey also cited a “Labrador Brown Capped Chickadee” that had been observed 104 days at a feeding station, apparently at Highland Park, “and studied closely through window” from 6 November 1919 to 5 May 1920.
Status     The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a sporadic, rare spring transient (in flocks of Black-Capped Chickadees) and an irregular, rare winter visitant.
Occurrence    These northern cousins of our beloved Black-capped Chickadees have always been rare here, but they were formerly reported with greater frequency than now, especially during a series of chickadee irruptions that occurred during early 1950s, the 1960s and early 1970s.After the three earlier sightings mentioned above, there was a gap of nearly 30 years before:One in fall 1949 at the Jensens’ feeder in Pittsford, staying at least into April the following year. (GOS, November-December 1949; WBR, 28 Aug 1950) Perhaps the most startling report was of an “Acadian” Chickadee “both heard and seen” on 20 August 1950 in Bergen Swamp by Oscar and Hugh Schaefer. “We now are wondering if the (Pittsford) bird wandered up to Bergen Swamp and found its favored conditions . . .” Edson speculated. (WBR, 28 Aug 1950) Sightings then came in a flurry, for, as Bull noted, “large irruptions occurred during the winters of 1951-1952 and 1954-55. (Bull, p. 402) In all but one year from 1950 to 1954, at least one to two of these wanderers from northern forests were seen in our region, usually at Manitou and in the evergreens at Durand-Eastman Park. (WBR, 17 January 1955, 4 December 1961, 15 January 1962)     3. Irruption of 1951-1952 Counts of 2, 1, 5, 1, and 1 were tallied on 4, 10, 11, 22, and 25 November 1951 at Durand-Eastman Park and Braddock Bay. (GOS, June/December 1951) “The Brown-capped Chickadees were only part of a much larger migration of Black-capped Chickadees and Brown-capped Chickadees in a southwestward direction along the northern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie.” This movement had been noted primarily 20-27 October in Ontario Province, so the local records “may indicate a later spreading out movement.”     4. Return flight, May 1952 An apparent return flight occurred the following May when 1, 3, 1 and 1 were seen 6, 10, 18 and 31 May at Manitou. (GOS, May/August 1952)      5. Irruption of 1954 Again in fall 1954, “several small groups” were seen among irrupting Black-capped Chickadees. Harry Van Beurden, for example, found one on 17 October at Lighthouse Beach “during the huge Black-capped Chickadee flight” and another at Payne Beach on 28 October. (B&M, p. 325) Another on 11 November was at Durand-Eastman Park. (GOS, September-October 1954)      6. Irruption in 1961-1962 Produced three sightings here: One on 9 October 1961 (Shermer) at Oklahoma Beach (KB 11:210), one on 26 November 1961 (Weld) at Durand Eastman Park (KB 11:210) and one on 6 January 1962 (Foster et al) at Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 12:35)        7. The first three months of 1964 brought a flurry of sightings: One 11 January (Maley) at Hamlin Beach SP, with “at least three and possible as many as five birds. . . present during late Feb” and one on 8 March. (KB 14:99, WBR, 20 January 1964)      8. One on 14 November 1965 (GOS hike) Durand Eastman Park was found and “heard giving its typical calls” (KB 16:32) during another irruption mentioned by Bull.       9. Irruption in fall/winter/spring of 1969-70 Brought at least seven sightings. Single birds were at Oklahoma Beach on 2 November (Weld), at Manitou on 11 November (Listman), and at Durand Eastman Park on 29 and 30 November (Doherty, O’Hara/Miller, Phelps, mob). Then two were at Durand Eastman on 6 December (GOS hike), another at Powder Mill Park on 3 January (S. Taylor), and Davis’ “unprecedented” three at Mendon Ponds Park on 24 March. (GNR, KB 20:78)     10. Irruption of winter/spring 1973 Our last major irruption include two on 21 January (Listman, T. Tetlow), four on 26 Janaury (R. Clark, Symonds), two on 4 February (GOS hike) and four on 16 March (Perrigo), all at Hamlin Beach SP (GNR, KB 23:89); two and one on 21 (M. Tetlow) and 22 April at Braddock Bay and one on 2 May (M. and T. Tetlow) at Webster Park. (KB 23:146)From 1979 to 1986 there were almost yearly sightings:      11. One 29 May 1979 (Ladwigs) Braddock Bay. (KB 29:146)      12. One 13-14 December 1980 (C. and R. Cass) Webster Park. (KB31:91)      13. One 21 February 1981 (Davids, Griffith) Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 31:91)      14. One 16 April 1982 (Davids, mob) west spit Braddock Bay. (KB 32:191; BA 29 April 1982)      15. One 15 December 1984 (K. Ballard) Letchworth SP near the Mt. Morris Dam, Letchworth-Silver Lakes CBC. (KB 35:126; Fox, p. 70)      16. One on 22-26 December 1985 (Bouton et al, Rochester CBC) Beatty Road, Greece. (KB 36:91, GNR)      17. One 30 April 1986 (R. Spahn) Braddock Bay. (KB 36:151) Not accepted by NYSARC. (KB 37:208)      18. One 28 December 1986 just north of Honeoye Lake, Little Lakes CBC. (Bob McKinney, count coordinator; Fox, p. 70)      Then followed a long dry spell until:      19. One on 26 December 2005 (Davids, D. Tetlow) at Webster Park. (LG, February 2006; KB 56:151)

Tufted Titmouse

Baeolophus bicolor
“I prize nothing which I have in my collection more highly than I do a fine male of this species, which was taken just south of Holley, March 17, 1889,” noted Neil Posson in 1899, writing about “Some Birds of Unusual Occurrence in Orleans County, NY.” (Auk 16: 196) “This bright bird would be a charming addition to our regular avi-fauna, but I know of no other records of its occurrence in this or adjoining counties.” He was referring to Tufted Titmouse, and clearly the status of this species has changed dramatically since then.More than half a century would pass before this sprightly songster became part of our “regular avi-fauna.” But since then it has increased dramatically and, during the last 20 years, has expanded its breeding presence throughout our region.
Background
This common bird of eastern deciduous forests expanded its range northward starting in the 1940s, probably because of climatic warming, reforestation of abandoned farmland and increased bird feeding, Grubb and Pravosudov note in their profile of this species for The Birds of North America. Densest populations occur in areas of beech and pin oak, which provide the mast these birds rely on for winter food. Like most parids they hoard food in fall and winter. They nest in tree cavities and nest boxes. Unlike most titmice and chickadees, the young of this species often remain with their parents during the winter and then disperse later in their second year. (BNA 86:1, 2, 11)
Local history
The strident “peter, peter, peter” song of this somber-plumaged yet sprightly resident is now familiar in our area. But it wasn’t always so. Indeed, Eaton (1910) listed this as only an accidental visitor in Monroe County with no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne. In addition to the specimen taken at Holley in 1889, another was at Rochester on 21 May 1903. (Eaton II: 503, I: county charts) George Guelf’s record of 12 birds at Brockport on 29 December 1908 was considered “most unusual.” (B&M, p. 326) Twenty-seven years passed, and then “The tufted titmouse is now spending a few days at Highland Park,” Edson wrote in 1935. It was seen on three days: 25 November and 12 and 17 December that year, Horsey noted. And it was the first Monroe County sighting since Guelf’s record tally. (WBR, 16 December 1935)Tufted Titmice apparently entered New York via two routes, Gordon Meade theorized. One was an “explosive population increase and expansion from northern New Jersey up to Rockland County. . .” The other, in western New York, was “up the Susquehanna River-Finger Lakes corridor, with some spread from northwestern Pennsylvania up the Allegheny River into Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.” (Andrle, p. 292) By the early 1950s, Tufted Titmouse was being reported more often, but still was seen primarily fall through early spring. When Leo Tanghe tallied up sightings by GOS members within a 50-mile radius of Rochester for the years 1951-1954, he found 17 sightings of this species, but not a single summer record. (KB5: 69: 5A-5B)However, as Grubb and Pravosudov note in their profile, “Tufted Titmouse often wanders northward in fall and winter.” (BNA 86:2)In fall 1954, a “decided incursion occurred,” in conjunction with a massive irruption of Black-capped Chickadees. No fewer than seven titmice were observed between 2 October and 25 November, all from the lakeshore, Harry Van Beurden reported. (GOS, September-October 1954)wo years later, this species was reported nesting at Forest Lawn – two adults, and four young. (GOS, July-December 1956) “This species seems to be slowly establishing itself in our area, especially along the east lakeshore,” Howard Miller observed in 1958. (KB7:121) Further evidence came when eight Tufted Titmice spent the winter of 1958-59 at various feeders along the east lakeshore. (KB 9:32)They were a welcome sight. Thelma McNett, a Webster birder, reported in early 1958 that two Tufted Titmice – apparently offspring of locally nesting birds – had showed up in her Lake Road yard and “have been steady visitors at our feeders ever since.” They were fond of sunflower, suet, peanuts and pie crust, she related. “They really liven up a feeding station with their cheery ‘Day-day-day’ and now an occasional ‘Peter-peter.’” (GOS, March/May 1958)In 1959, Edson declared that Tufted Titmouse had indeed become an established nesting bird in Monroe County. (WBR, 31 August 1959) Seventeen were counted in the Irondequoit Bay area on 30 December 1961. (GNR) A report of nesting in the Lake Road—Bay Road area of Webster in 1962 “makes the seventh successive year that young have been raised in Monroe County,” Mary Ann Sunderlin and McNett reported, with most nesting in the Hale Woods area with its extensive stands of beech trees. (WBR, 30 July 1962)John Brown was a bit more cautious, waiting until 1963 to declare that the establishment of this species as a “nesting, year-round resident of Monroe County now seems to be an accomplished fact.” In addition to the birds in the Bay Road-Lake Road area, a pair feeding six young birds was found at Powder Mill Park that year. (BA, 5 July 1963) Three years later, this species could be found in “half a dozen known locations in the county.” Its ability to survive Rochester winters “may be partly due to the number of feeding stations now kept well-stocked all winter.” (BA, 27 January 1966)By 1968 it was being reported “more frequently from wider areas.” (KB18: 150) And by 1971 the Tufted Titmouse was “so regular east and south of Rochester that it is taken for granted in many places,” Richard O’Hara reported. (KB 21:151) Three years later, “breeding was occurring in a broad band from the southern state line up to Lake Ontario, just to the east of Oneida Lake and west to the south shore of Lake Erie southwest of Buffalo,” Meade noted. (Andrle, p. 292)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a fairly common permanent resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) also considered this a fairly common permanent resident.
Occurrence
Breeding status: The Breeding Bird Atlas projects have helped document how this species is continuing to expand and consolidate its foothold not only in our region, but statewide. During the first project, for example, there were basically two populations in New York: one in the Genesee Valley/Finger Lakes Region, the other downstate, extending up the Hudson Valley. That project produced a heavy cluster of blocks with confirmed breeding immediately around Rochester, with other confirmations scattered throughout our region, particularly to the south through Livingston County. However, this species was reported in only scattered blocks in eastern Wayne and in western Monroe into eastern Orleans County.The second project demonstrated a dramatic expansion of this species’ breeding presence across virtually all of New York State south of the Adirondacks. In our region, evidence of breeding had extended throughout Wayne County. However, there were still several blocks without any evidence of breeding west of the Genesee River, from Monroe into Orleans County. It will be interesting to see if, or rather when, this species becomes established in those areas.

The first documented sighting in Livingston County was in 1958, Fox notes, and beginning in 1961 this species was recorded in the Conesus Lake area on every LL CBC except one. (Fox, p. 70) Letchworth SP naturalist Douglas Bassett says they began breeding there in the 1970s, and estimates there are now 15 to 20 breeding pairs in the park. (Bassett, “One Hundred Years of Natural History Changes in Letchworth State Park,” The Genesee Naturalist, Winter 2007, p. 9)

Misc.
“Because of its fairly constant activity, its easily heard voice, and its combative conduct, the Tufted Titmouse is readily observed,” Meade noted. (Andrle, p. 292) Nonetheless, the rusty wash on the flanks closely resembles the color of beech and oak leaves in winter, notes the profile of this species in the Birds of North America species. “When a wintering Tufted Titmouse is perched among the gray branches and brown dead leaves of a beech tree, it seems to disappear completely.” (BNA 86: 2)In May 1988, Georgia Guenther called her husband to come quick and look out the window. A raccoon had wandered into their fully-wooded, four-acre Fairport yard and was sitting under a spruce, eating the spilled corn the Guenthers had put out for the birds.Georgia didn’t call Ralph just to look at a raccoon, however, but the Tufted Titmouse that was sneaking up behind it on the ground and pulling tufts of hair out of the raccoon’s backside. The raccoon would turn its head to look, and the titmouse would fly up into a nearby rhododendron. As soon as the raccoon resumed eating, the titmouse would fly back down, sneak up, and pull another tuft.This went on three or four times. “We thought it was the funniest thing we had ever seen,” Ralph said. (per comm..) They saw the same thing happen in May 1994.

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