Here’s a cheerful sight on an early spring morning, the Brown headed Nuthatch!
I encountered this little fella a couple of weeks ago at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh,NC.
It was really neat to just sit and watch him fly back and forth in to eat, pecking and scraping the suet log for a snack.
Nuthatches usually feed in a downward facing position. This time I was able to get a nice close up look at one right side up for a change!
Though the Brown headed Nuthatch is found throughout the entire state of North Carolina,
their most commonly seen in the piedmont and coastal plain regions. Their preference of habitats include mature and open longleaf pine stands found in the dry Sandhills areas, however, they also can be spotted in open areas of loblolly and shortleaf pine stands found near ponds.
As you might expect given the Brown headed Nuthatches proclivity to foraging pine forests, they eat their fare share of pine seeds. Being omnivores, they also consume a large number of insects, larvae and spiders too.
In fact these clever creatures are one of a few species of birds in the world to use tools to access the insects hidden beneath the bark of trees.
Using a short (but strong) stick, they’ll pry away the bark from the trunk to find a six or eight legged meal hiding inside.
Pretty neat huh?
Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds
