White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

For at least a little while this morning, the sun was shining. Unfortunately it didn't last long but I had not been out for a while between work, the holidays and the weather not cooperating so I had to get out this morning! That accounts for the delay since my last post! My apologies for that - I hope it won't happen again this year!

I spent a couple of hours at Volo Bog. There wasn't a great deal there but there were the ubiquitous chickadees and a very cooperative White-breasted Nuthatch. I first heard this bird and then saw it creeping up and down the branches and trunks of trees. To me, this shot is the 'classic' portrait of the nuthatch. Nuthatches are one of the few birds that feed moving down the trunk instead of up it, like creepers and others.

Their call is substantially different from most other birds - and certainly far less melodic than many. The 'ank ank' is very distinctive, similar only to the Red-breasted Nuthatch, which is more insistent. The White-breasted Nuthatch can be told from the Red-breasted by the lack of color on the flanks and chest and lack of black stripe through the eye. The White-breasted is considerably larger than the Red-breasted but this isn't always immediately obvious unless they're together.