I have been spellbound by nuthatches
since first I ever laid eyes on one while hiking along the Rugged Path. I love his blue-grey back feathers, white
breast and black cap. His short tail
helps him in spiralling up and down the trunk of a lofty white pine he
evidently likes the seeds hidden inside the tree’s cones. The seeds are only released from the mature
cones and they are sought after by many birds and wee animals to the feast.
Insectivorous, the Nuthatch also gleans
larvae for tree trunks. Nuthatches will
also come to bird feeders in winter. Suet
appeals to them as well as shelled peanuts, “shelled and unsalted, S.V.P.”
His voice is distinctive and easily
recognizable. The bird guides describe
the call of the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis) as a “yank, yank,
yank” which is exactly so. He generally
pals around with the Black Capped Chickadees, those friendly little woodland
troubadours who will come to your hand for a peanut. Nuthatch is hesitant to follow so I place a
half peanut (shelled) in the crook of a tree limb where he readily accepts the
offering.
Normally his range is the sub-alpine
forests of the far north dipping south in winters. His voice is different from the
White-breasted Nuthatch’s Yank, Yank,
Yank call. His call is a little higher
pitched with a tin flute quality.
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America describes it
as “a child’s tin horn”.
I was mistaken about the Red-breasted
Nuthatch being a solitary little fellow.
While trudging through the snow on the Rugged Path, there seemed many vocalizations
between the little bird and at least one other of his kind, perhaps a
prospective mate.
Nesting, according to bird guides
requires a huge effort by the parents to successfully rear between 5 and 8
nestlings. Both parents construct the nest
in tree cavities, lining it with mosses and feathers and employing pine pitch
and other tree saps smeared around the entrance to discourage insect invasion
and perhaps also as a deterrent to predators.
His name is derived from his ability to
hatch nuts. He will place a nut in the
crevice of tree bark and break it open with his long slender bill.
My cousins, who reside in southern
Alberta have seen the Red-breasted Nuthatches as regular visitors to their feeding stations
this year too.I ventured to characterize the wee birds as quite tame but my
cousins tell me the western race is “Cautious”.
In lore, Nuthatches were considered
bewitched birds because of their habit of climbing downwards on tree
trunks. One of their common names is
“the upside down bird”. I think they are
simply enchanting.
For detailed and scientific information
on Nuthatches, follow the link:
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