Posted by Joe Barnes on December 6th, 2009

White Breasted Nuthatches 

Sunday morning, December 6, was spectacular at Bundoran Farm with the trees on the hillsides frosted and snow on the ground.  Woodpeckers were active and vocal as were some white breasted nuthatches.  These little birds are year round residents with a territory of 25-45 acres.  You often see them going headfirst down trees looking for food in bark crevices.  They may have stored this food earlier.  They also move in a zig-zag manner along branches, looking almost like a wind up toy, and when they leave a feeder they seem to dive off headfirst.

 

Nuthatch pairs remain together all year, with courtship beginning in late winter.  In January at day-break you may spot male perch in the top of a tree and give his “wer-wer-wer” song, bowing his head with each note.  The female will join him and they will fly off together to feed.  A little later in winter watch for mate-feeding.  The male will collect a morsel from a niche in the bark, go straight to the female (not a usual zig-zag pattern) and place it in her beak.  This behavior continues into April.

 

Nuthatches use existing holes in trees for nesting, and roost in such areas in the winter.  After the eggs (5-10/clutch) are laid, the male feeds the female as she sits on the eggs for about 12 days.  Both parents feed the young in the nest for two weeks, and continue to feed the fledglings for about two weeks after they leave the nest.  Like most small birds the fledglings “outgrow” the nest and leave before they are self sufficient.

 

Male and female nuthatches look much alike but the dark patch on the top of the head of the male is jet black, while that of his mate is dark gray with a silvery sheen to it.

Occasionally in our area we hear and see the red breasted nuthatch which has a much more nasal quality to its voice.

 

To hear the “ank-ank-ank” song of the white breasted nuthatch go to

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-Breasted-Nuthatch/sounds

Dorothy Tompkins – Master Naturalist and Bundoran Farm Steward

Filed under: Education and Inspiration, Nature/Environment