Nuthatches

 The woodlot is full of nuthatches. But I’m looking for a brown-headed nuthatch, and all the nuthatches I’ve seen have been white-breasted.

The Piedmont is the northern limit of the brown-headed nuthatch’s range. I’m interested because they’re tool users. They’ll use a scale of pine bark as a prybar while foraging for insects. They also raise their young with the help of kids from last year’s hatch.

Terry W. Johnson, whose blog about backyard wildlife is a regular stop for me, had a note on a study that shows males consistently outnumber females 5 to 4. The guess is that females are easier targets for snakes as they incubate the eggs.

Nuthatches cling to the trunks of trees like woodpeckers. But they are as likely to go down the tree as up, and it’s fun watching them feed upside down.

I’m enjoying the watching. But still no brown heads.

• Source: Terry W. Johnson’s blog is at https://backyardwildlifeconnection.com/