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Mountain Chickadee

Poecile gambeli

Small gray chickadee with black cap, white cheeks, and gray back. Montane Bay Area resident; moves to lower elevations in winter. Acrobatic feeder consuming insects and seeds; caches seeds for winter.

Plants that support Mountain Chickadee

13 plants

Brownhead Rush

Juncus phaeocephalus var. phaeocephalus

moderate

perennial herb

forages for small arthropods on stems and leaves throughout year in montane rush meadows

Bay Area native

California Ash

Fraxinus dipetala

moderate

tree

Uses ash trees for nesting cavities and year-round foraging for insects

Bay Area nativeKeystone species

Coastal Wood Fern

Dryopteris arguta

moderate

fern

Fern understory habitat for foraging on invertebrates

Bay Area native

Desert Mallow*

Malacothamnus hallii

moderate

shrub

Gleans insects from foliage year-round

Bay Area native

Giant Chain Fern

Woodwardia fimbriata

moderate

fern

Dense evergreen fronds provide winter roosting sites and foraging cover

Bay Area native

Large-Flowered Fairybells

Prosartes smithii

moderate

perennial herb

Fall foraging on berries before high elevation migration; caches seeds opportunistically

Bay Area native

Purple Needlegrass

Stipa pulchra

moderate

grass

Seed cache and foraging Sep-Nov

Bay Area native

Redwood keckiella

Keckiella corymbosa

moderate

shrub

gleaning insects and spider eggs from foliage; year-round resident in coastal scrub

Bay Area native

Scouler's Polypody

Polypodium scouleri

high

fern

forages for arthropods among fronds; particularly important in winter months

Bay Area native

Western Leatherwood

Dirca occidentalis

moderate

shrub

Nesting and foraging habitat in riparian woodlands; year-round resident in coastal ranges

Bay Area native

Western Rush

Juncus occidentalis

moderate

grass

Utilizes rush stands for winter roosting and foraging cover in mountain wetlands

Bay Area native

Western Virgin's Bower

Clematis ligusticifolia

moderate

vine

Winter food source in montane California regions

Bay Area native

Yellow-eyed-grass

Sisyrinchium californicum

moderate

perennial herb

Gleans insects from foliage in California wetlands and riparian areas

Bay Area native