Barking up the right tree?

  

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in Cotati on 10 February 2024.

Pygmy, pine, and pupa

  

Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) as it pecked at what looked like an insect pupa that it had wedged into a fissure between the scales of a pine cone.  Photographed in Bodega Bay on 18 January 2021.

Stopping by for a drink

 

Although they're not necessarily rare in Sonoma County, we don't see Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) come to our water bath very often, so here's a photo for the record.  Photographed in Cotati on 23 March 2020.

 

Descending

 

Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea), Bodega Bay, 17 January 2020.  I wasn't sure what this bird was up to at first.  It flew down to a shrub very close to the ground, and then I realized it was descending from branch-to-branch towards  a small patch of open water, perhaps for a drink?

Along the creek

Whew, it's been a hectic few days.  I'm so sorry that so many people in Sonoma County are having such a difficult time right now.  Yesterday (27 October 2019) we evacuated due to wildfire concerns and drove to Davis, CA.  Today I went for a short walk in the UC Davis Arboretum.  I've been on edge since the fire started, but walking today helped a lot.  I finally felt like I could take a deeper breath.

With the hope that some nice photos will help other people, too, here are a few images from Putah Creek this afternoon:

 

 Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

 

 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

 

 Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)

 

 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

P.S.  A world of thanks to all of the firefighters and the incredible team of people who have been working so hard to fight the Kincade Fire and to coordinate and communicate with everyone in the community.  Our appreciation is hard to express.

 

Got one!

 

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), just after extracting a seed from a pine cone.  Photographed on 3 February 2018.

Gathering

 

On 26 March 2016, we watched this female White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) approach a cavity on the underside of a large oak branch.  

 

At first we thought she might be interested in using it as a nest site.  But when she backed out with a mouthful of material, we realized that she was gathering nesting material from this cavity:

 

I don't know if there was a former nest in the cavity, or if softer materials had simply collected there and she was gathering them to use at a new site.  Before this, I hadn't considered what nuthatches use to make their nests, so it was intriguing behavior to watch.

 

Fluffed up

 

Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) — fluffed up against the cold (~35°F) early this morning.

A large flock of siskins was feeding in a sweetgum tree in our yard.  Their activity level seemed to attract other birds.  The siskins were joined by Lesser Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, a Red-breasted Nuthatch (see below), and Chestnut-backed Chickadees.

 

It's already 36°F here tonight (at ~10 p.m. in Cotati), and it's predicted to reach 30°F by morning.  Brrrr!

Thanks, Mom!

 

If you're reading this on May 10th — Happy Mother's Day!  If you're reading it on the 11th, I apologize for being a day late.  I took these pictures today, 10 May 2015, at Crane Creek Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

Above, a juvenile White-breasted Nuthatch has its bill wide open, ready to receive food from its parent — probably its mother, based on the paler gray (not black) crown.

Here's the next scene:

 

I encountered some nuthatches in an oak tree, and heard lots of soft, twittering sounds, making me suspicious that there could be juveniles around.  I couldn't locate a juvenile at first, and then I finally found one sitting quietly — see below, and note the yellow bill color.

 

I wondered, if I waited long enough, whether I'd see an adult bring food to the juvenile.  Sure enough, I saw two separate feeding events.

Here's the second one (I think this was the father, with a black crown):

 

I haven't seen juvenile White-breasted Nuthatches that often.  So I took a few pictures to document some of their characteristics.

I mentioned the bill color (yellow in juveniles, gray in adults).  The bill length is different, too — shorter in juveniles.  Compare them in the next picture:

 

Note the softer-looking plumage, and the paler and more restricted crown of the juvenile (i.e., there's more white on the back of the neck):

 

To my eye, the juvenile had grayer underparts (see below).  (And I was surprised to see that the juvenile already had rusty undertail coverts!)

 

The Birds of North America account mentioned that juveniles may have back feathers with dark tips and scapular feathers with light tips.  I couldn't make out that patterning on the back feathers.  I could see light tips in the shoulder region, creating a thin, pale bar:

 

Although I observed this juvenile being fed by the adults, I also saw it (or a different individual) foraging on its own.  (Note the short bill.):

 

Interestingly, I thought I might have counted 3-4 birds in the tree at first, but it was hard to keep track as they moved among the dense oak leaves.  When this flock left the tree, at least 8 nuthatches flew out!  Later I read that the average clutch size is 6.4.  Young nuthatches may stay with their parents for several weeks after leaving the nest.

 

Slender-billed Nuthatch

In 2013, the American Ornithologists' Union voted on whether White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) should be considered several species rather than one.  For example, whether there should be a Carolina Nuthatch, a Rocky Mountain Nuthatch, and a Slender-billed Nuthatch.  (The birds we encounter on the West Coast would be in the third group.)

The A.O.U. voted against the proposal, citing the need for more data.  For now, these groups of nuthatches remain subspecies, and they vary in plumage, bill shape, and vocalizations.  

Now when I see and hear White-breasted Nuthatches, I pay a little more attention.  It's a chance to consider how they might vary, and it's also an opportunity to contribute to what's known about them in different parts of the country.

Here are two views of a male White-breasted Nuthatch in Santa Rosa on 14 March 2015.

 

Examples of things to look for: the length of the bill, the amount of white in the face, the width of the black crown, and the amount of black in the blue-gray feathers.

 

And you can listen to this male singing, too.  I should have also tried to record the call notes (which vary among the subspecies), but I have a brief recording of his song.  [By the way, I haven't heard a discussion about why the call notes would differ more than the song.  Nuthatches do tend to call a lot, and they don't sing that often.  Could that be part of the reason?]

Pardon the background noise, as this recording was made with my camera.  Remember to turn up the volume of your speakers.

If you're interested, you can read more about differences in the subspecies of White-breasted Nuthatches in this article by Steven Mlodinow. 

High-pitched begging

We're not surprised to encounter Pygmy Nuthatches in our yard in Sebastopol, but they are often less noticeable at this time of year and then return in late summer.  This year, however, a large flock is still visible and has been very active and vocal.  

Recently I've been hearing a very shrill high-pitched call that seemed different than the usual twittering and pipping notes.  I wondered if it was a fledgling begging from the adults.  But the only way to tell for sure was to follow the sound, find the bird that was making it, and look for either behavioral or plumage clues to confirm that it was a juvenile.

This morning I did that and after a few tries, my ears and eyes landed on this bird.

 

Note the posture — leaning forward, with wings held slightly out to the side.  And the yellow coloration at the gape and at the base of the lower bill.

Below is the same bird, just a few seconds later as it turned to the side.  It was quivering its wings and calling.

 

In general, juvenile birds often have paler colors near the base of their bills.  To be sure, I looked this up and confirmed this was true for Pygmy Nuthatches, too.  (Adults have all gray bills.)

So the calls I've been hearing are juveniles begging from adults.  There isn't too much written about these begging calls, although the Birds of North America account says that incubating females make similar calls when being fed by males.

Here's one more photo of a fledgling Pygmy Nuthatch.

 

If you'd like to hear an example of this begging call, I've included a short sound clip below.  Unfortunately, I've been having some technical difficulties with this audio file tonight, so I hope it works.  (If it doesn't, I'll try again another night.)  Listen for the high-pitched begging calls at about 6 seconds, 12 seconds, and 16 seconds.

pygmaea by nhbh

I read that fledglings may be fed by adults for up to 2 months after they leave the nest, so you'll probably be able to hear these calls for a while.

What's in the bill?

When I arrived home from work, I stepped out of the car to see a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) on a tree next to our house.  We don't see them in our yard that often, so I picked up my camera to take a picture.  I only took a few before it flew off.  When I downloaded the images, I was a little surprised by this one:

 

You can see that the nuthatch is holding something in its bill.  This generates a lot of questions.  What is it?  And how is it being used?  Can you think of a few different possibilities?

Here are some options that I wondered about:

Option 1 — It could be food.  In this case, I'm not so sure.  It doesn't look quite right for a caterpillar or a beetle, for example.  And it looks too large for a seed.

Option 2 —  It could be a tool.  Other species of nuthatches (Brown-headed Nuthatches and Pygmy Nuthatches) are known to use pieces of bark and twigs as tools to probe for food.  I don't know if this has been documented in White-breasted Nuthatches, but it's an intriguing possibility.

Option 3 — It could be an object used to conceal food.  Both Brown-headed Nuthatches and White-breasted Nuthatches have been observed to use a piece of bark to hide seeds.

Did you think of other options?

Unfortunately, I didn't see what the nuthatch did with the object in its bill, so it remains a mystery.  But it's something to watch for in future encounters with nuthatches. 

ADDENDUM [20 March 2013]: Option 4 — You'll laugh, but this morning I woke up thinking, it could be a piece of bark that the nuthatch had removed while searching for food.  Not as exciting as the other options above, but I can't discount it.

Pygmy Nuthatches are more common in our yard (see below).  They're much smaller than White-breasted Nuthatches, e.g., 4.25" long vs. 5.75" long.  And notice how the gray on the head comes down to the eyes, giving the face a much darker appearance.  They also have a slight buffy wash on the breast.

 

 

For more information about Pygmy Nuthatches, review the post from 12 March 2012.

Partial to pines

A movement caught my eye this morning and I looked up from my desk to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) foraging along the edge of my office window.  I didn't have my camera at the time, but later I encountered another nuthatch searching for food (e.g., insects or spiders) along a crevice in a vertical wall on a nearby building. 

 

Note the dark crown, white eyebrow stripe, and dark eyeline.  Below you can see the contrast between the black crown and the gray back, indicating that this is a male (females have gray crowns).

After work I stopped at Owl Canyon briefly and found one foraging in the pines. 

 

The next picture illustrates the nuthatch's climbing technique.  Unlike creepers and woodpeckers, it doesn't use its tail as a prop against the tree trunk.  Instead, nuthatches have very long claws that grip the bark.  This allows them to walk in both directions (up and down) along the trunk (or along any surface at any orientation!).

 

Red-breasted Nuthatches are uncommon migrants on Bodega Head.  Two other species of nuthatches have been recorded, but are considered rare migrants.  Do you know which ones?  (Answer at bottom of page.)

 

It was relatively quiet bird-wise in Owl Canyon, but I heard a loud chip note and turned to see this immature female Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis).  Note the bright yellow face, darker crown and ear patch, and mostly white underparts with very few streaks.

 

Red-breasted Nuthatches and Hermit Warblers both prefer conifers.  In other areas they can be found in Douglas-firs, true firs, and spruce, but on Bodega Head you're more likely to spot them in pines.

[Answer to nuthatch question:  The other two nuthatches include Pygmy Nuthatch and White-breasted Nuthatch.]

ADDENDUM (26 September 2012): 

For anyone wondering about the location of Owl Canyon:  Owl Canyon is along Westshore Road just before you get to Campbell Cove. Watch for the tall pines and eucalyptus. There's a large dirt pull-off along the side of the road where you can park (on the opposite side from Bodega Harbor).

Madrone Audubon has a map showing Owl Canyon.  And Colin Talcroft has provided an aerial view with a written description.

Pygmy Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) — rare on Bodega Head, but more common inland.  This photo was taken in Sebastopol. 

They are the smallest of the three nuthatches in this area.  Note the gray-brown cap and dark eyeline, generally blue-gray feathers above and white (or buffy) below.  In the photo you can also see the relatively short bill and very long toes.

According to the Birds of North America, Aristotle used the Greek word “sitte” to refer to a bird that pecks at the bark of a tree — hence the genus, Sitta.  The nuthatch above is searching for food (insects, seeds) on a large redwood trunk.

Pygmy Nuthatches are gregarious and social.  You can often hear them before you see them, as they are quite vocal and their high-pitched twittering and piping calls are very distinctive.  They are found in flocks year-round.

Because of their small size (9–11 cm long), they are sensitive to cold temperatures.  To stay warm at night, they roost communally in tree cavities — temperatures inside cavities with huddling nuthatches have been measured 9° above ambient. (Like chickadees, they can also undergo controlled hypothermia to save energy at night.)  Their need for tree cavities (especially dead snags) leads to a preference for old-growth, mature forests.

Like the Bushtit (see post on 3 February 2012), Pygmy Nuthatches are cooperative breeders, with breeding pairs assisted by 1–3 helpers.  Although they prefer pines throughout their range, a pair nested in an oak tree in our yard.  The opening to the cavity was incredibly narrow (see gray "doughnut" near bottom of photo below); the nuthatches entered it sideways!