As species interactions influence species distributions, attempts to work backwards from observed species distributions to infer the effect of a potential interaction have been enticing. The “natural removal experiment,” an approach that tests for patterns consistent with competition by comparing a species’ habitat relationships in sympatry and allopatry with a potential competitor, has held promise, but has often been limited by the scales of data required. The recent expansion of community science-based datasets invites renewed opportunity for investigation using this approach. We revitalize the natural removal experiment by applying it to ask whether the distribution of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens; CBCH) is consistent with competition with the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus; BCCH) in urban areas. Using data from the community science project eBird, we compared relationships of CBCH relative abundance to urban- and forest-related variables in individual urban-centres and across regions of allopatry and sympatry with the BCCH. As predicted under competition, we found that in allopatry, the CBCH adopted habitat relationships similar to the less forested, more urban habitats of the BCCH at both the urban-centre and regional scale. By applying predictive modeling to “imagine” either the absence or ubiquity of BCCH across the studied range of CBCH, we found that sympatry with the BCCH suppressed CBCH abundance in urban areas, and that in their absence CBCH abundance increased, consistent with competitive release. These lines of evidence suggest that the observed distribution of CBCH is consistent with that expected under competition with the BCCH in urban areas. Expanding beyond this case study, we discuss important considerations in the application of this approach, which presents a significant opportunity for researchers to harness community science to conduct more powerful investigations of species interactions extending to broad spatial scales.