Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis

Red-breasted Nuthatch

I went out this morning with the intention of finding some owls. Largely because I've had very little luck finding owls roosting and because I wanted to find some locations where they were likely to be. Ultimately I did find and photograph a Great Horned Owl (I'll post photos later) but interestingly for me, I also found several great locations to see Red-breasted Nuthatches.

For some reason I have not seen many Red-breasted until this month. However, this month, I've seen far more Red-breasted than the more common White-breasted. Of course a big part of the reason is that this is their winter range but they are around for an extended period. In any case, I was very pleased to find them today. I was even more pleased to photograph them!

Red-breasted NuthatchRed-breasted Nuthatches, like several other species, prefer spruce and pine trees to forage in. They are considerably smaller than their white-breasted counterparts, being 20% smaller on average, and weighing about half as much. The red breast is not surprisingly diagnostic, although they are most often seen clinging to trees and vegetation, which hides their breast. Another diagnostic mark is the eye stripe, which is not present in the white-breasted.

White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches seem to often be together with Brown Creepers and sometimes Chickadees. The red-breasted in particular seems to remain quiet while the white-breasted will call from time to time. The red-breasted's call is more insistent than the white-breasted, said to sound like 'ank ank ank'.