Nuthatch

When I want to meditate or just need to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life I head for the woods. I have a preferred spot on a moss covered log that overlooks a valley where I watch the little red barn come to life and the deer drink at the stream below. The peace and quiet of the autumn woods never fail to work their magic for me.

Usually and directly one of my favored woodland birds breaches my concentration. Even with my eyes closed, its nasal "Ank, ank, ank" call makes me aware of the appearance of the white breasted nuthatch. I don't wish to be impolite so I survey the tree tops. It doesn't take long to detect the blue gray tree top acrobat.

I see the nuthatch as it works it way down the trunk of an oak tree. Hastily moving to a nearby branch it hangs upside down and grabs a cold, dazed spider. In jerky, almost automated activity he continues up and down the tree searching for his next meal. I congratulate myself that this show is for me alone.

Nuthatches are most visible during fall and winter. On autumn's leafless trees you'll easily spot the nuthatch as they work their way around a tree. Nuthatches are a diminutive and elegant bird. Only five inches long they have a white breast and face. Their face is blue- gray in color and their neck and cap are black. The females' colors are like the male nuthatch but duller. Their acrobatic, upside down antics is the best evidence to their individuality.

Nuthatches continually visit bird feeders but they don't travel in flocks like chickadees and titmouse. A single pair visits my feeder each morning. I don't have to see them as their voice gives them away.

Adult nuthatches sustain an unrestricted bond even in the winter months. Often each bird travels alone but close enough to hear its mate. Their winter feeding terrain is about 35 acres. At night they perch alone in a tree hollow. In May the female seeks out a new tree cavity in which to build a nest and lay her eggs.

Gluttonous insect predators during the warm weather, nuthatches eat nuts and seeds in the winter months. After working their way down a tree trunk looking for insects they may search the ground around the tree trunk for fallen acorns, beech nuts and hickory nuts. Perhaps this is why they look so ordinary combing the ground under feeders for sunflower seeds.

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