Feeding Chickadees at Anvil Lake

Have you ever fed a chickadee right from the palm of your hand? I hadn’t.

But don’t worry, this isn’t some cheap money grab where you pay $5 for birdseed at some random petting zoo…These are wild chickadees, on public land, so you can have this experience for FREE — as long as you know how to get there!

This magical little hike is in Eagle River, Wisconsin, located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The chickadees are located near a shelter that’s located on the trail system. To get to the nearest trailhead, you can park at the Anvil National Recreation Trail Parking lot which is right off Military Road. From this lot, you can take the Military Trail towards the shelter — keep left when the path forks, and you’ll see the shelter pretty clearly.

If you take this trail there and back, it’ll be about 1.8 miles out and back. The trail is very easy, with very gradual hills. However, if you want to take the longer route, you could park at the Anvil Lake National Recreation Trail Parking lot which is right off State Road 70. This will bring you to the main trailhead where you could take the West Trail, East Trail, Devil’s Run or Nine Mile Trail — all of which could lead you to the chickadees.

When I went on this hike, it was late December, and Mother Nature had just dumped a bucket of snow across northern Wisconsin. Everything was bright white, and our footprints were often the first to break the pristine snow cover. If you’ve never taken and winter hike in northern Wisconsin after a snowfall, you’re missing out. It’s like stepping foot into Narnia.

However, we accidentally went the wrong way and turned what should have been a short hike into a long, cold scramble to find our way to the shelter. If you’re planning to do this hike in the wintertime (which I highly recommend), wear warm clothing and proper shoes, and bring along some hand warmers.

We stopped at a local hardware shop in Eagle River to pick up some bird feed before heading to the trailhead, then we just stuffed a bunch in our pockets for the hike. We could hear the chickadees before we saw them and when the shelter came into view we were excited to find the clearing empty. We had the chickadees all to ourselves! The chickadees must have been hungry because they were very excited to see us too.

We reached into our pockets and pulled out a handful of feed. With cold, cupped hands, we held them out for the birds to perch. It didn’t take long for them to make their way out of the trees and land on our fingers. They were so light, it was like they weren’t even there. They’d pick up a seed or two with their tiny beaks and flitter off to make room for the next guy.

We enjoyed the presence of the birds for a half hour or so before wandering back off into the snow-covered forest.