Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Day 320: Determined to capture a "field-guide" shot of my little Nutty friend, I settled into a lawn chair in the shade of the contorted filbert yesterday, camera on my raised knee and my finger on the shutter button. I knew I'd have to be quick. Nutty seldom remained on the feeder more than five seconds, and even then was in motion. I took lots of pictures of an empty platform, digital response even slower than my own, but eventually made this capture. I believe this is a male based on the richer "red" of its breast and underparts. That said, I may actually have a pair. Something which seemed to fly like a Nuthatch in my peripheral vision landed on the far side of the feeder while my attention was on this bird.

Now for a few cool facts about Nuthatches. First of all, look at the size of those feet! No wonder the little bugger is so good at hanging upside-down to feed. I'm sure the stubby tail gives him better balance in that position as well. Nuthatches are bark foragers, feeding primarily on insects. Perhaps they were drawn to my yard by the ash-borers which would devastate my Sitka Mountain-ash if it wasn't for the sapsuckers' diligence. Nuthatches are cavity-nesters, with a preference for holes in dead trees or dead branches. They line their nests with grass, pine needles and bark, and use finer material like feathers and fur to insulate them. They also apply a ring of resin to the edges of their entryways, the male "painting" outside while the female does the interior and, interestingly, they frequently use bits of bark to transport gobs of pitch to the nesting site, and as a tool to apply it. At the feeder, their preferred diet is black-oil seed (no shortage of that at this establishment!), and will also take mealworms and suet. They cache food for consumption later, and usually take the bigger, heavier bits first. If the items are too large to swallow, they anchor them in a crack and hammer them into smaller pieces. They are also known to associate with chickadees, another reason they may have appeared for the first time in my yard this year.