I was filling up the bird feeders when this little beauty flew in so close that I had to back up to get it in focus. The Red-breasted Nuthatch is one of my favorite backyard birds. Unlike its cousin the White-breasted, the Red-breasted is more friendly and is usually very comfortable around people. In fact, they've been known to eat out of your hand if you're patient.
So what on earth does "nuthatch" mean? The term refers to the bird's tendency to jam a nut into a crevice to hold it like a vice, then the bird uses its bill like a hatchet to crack open the nut.
Another clever tool in the nuthatch's toolbox is the use of resin. The bird will often collect resin from conifers, and using slivers of wood as a paintbrush, the bird applies the resin to the entrance of its nest cavity. It's believed that the sticky resin deters predators and other birds. Nuthatches dive directly through the hole so the resin doesn't affect them.
To attract Red-breasted Nuthatches to your feeder, put out black-oil sunflower seeds and shelled peanuts. When you see a small, cinnamon-chested bird that creeps along tree trunks upside-down like Spider-Man, you'll know you've got a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
So what on earth does "nuthatch" mean? The term refers to the bird's tendency to jam a nut into a crevice to hold it like a vice, then the bird uses its bill like a hatchet to crack open the nut.
Another clever tool in the nuthatch's toolbox is the use of resin. The bird will often collect resin from conifers, and using slivers of wood as a paintbrush, the bird applies the resin to the entrance of its nest cavity. It's believed that the sticky resin deters predators and other birds. Nuthatches dive directly through the hole so the resin doesn't affect them.
To attract Red-breasted Nuthatches to your feeder, put out black-oil sunflower seeds and shelled peanuts. When you see a small, cinnamon-chested bird that creeps along tree trunks upside-down like Spider-Man, you'll know you've got a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
