eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Sometimes you feel like a nut(hatch)... Awww... Never mind... Too easy.

Looks like we've got a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) here.

This handsome little bird, in his slate gray jacket and brilliant white shirtfront, is common around forests, fields, and backyard feeders. His familiar call is very distinctive. You usually hear this guy well before you see him.

The nuthatch feeds primarily on seeds, insects, and small spiders. He will creep head-down along tree branches and trunks, pecking at bugs for a meal. Or he'll grab a seed from a feeder and then fly off to insert it in a tree branch between bits of bark. After a few trips between tree and feeder, the nuthatch will finally settle down to eat his cache, hammering away at the stored seeds with great vigor.

Some interesting nuthatch facts:

• Nuthatches are tree cavity dwellers and prefer holes in trees that have been abandoned by other birds, most notably woodpeckers.
• They are one of only a few birds that can creep head-first down tree branches in search of food, and they will occasionally simply hang upside down from a branch.
• In the winter, nuthatches believe in the old adage, "There's safety in numbers," as they tend to feed and flock with other small birds.
• There is no U.S. state (and no Canadian province) which has the nuthatch as its state bird. How sad.

So here's to the Nuthatch, the eBirdseed Bird of the Week.

See you by the feeders,

Mr. & Mrs. CapeCodAlan

P.S. Looks like the NovaBird camera has been afoot!

P.P.S. We've got chickadees living in our birdhouse!

As always, thanks to the following resources:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Wikipedia
• Audubon Society
• U.S. Geological Survey
• The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds”
• ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden
• ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks
• Chapman's "Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America"
• Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds"
• "Birdwatching" from publisher "Discovery Travel Adventures"