I was doing yard work yesterday, when I noticed a White-breasted nuthatch entering and leaving the Screech Owl House I put up 3 years ago. It is 24 feet above the ground. It has been previously occupied by a Screech Owl (in the winter), and a Gray Squirrel. I stopped and sat down to watch; and soon it was apparent that there was more than one bird. I went to the house to get my camera and headed back out to watch and get a few photos. In the end, I got 250 photos using my Canon 50D and Canon 400 f/5.6 (which is quickly becoming my “GO TO” camera for moving and nesting birds.
After watching and shooting images for an hour, I realized how comical these birds are. I already knew the spent lots of time in an “up-side down” position; coming from top to bottom of trees. They continued to amaze me with the upside down antics yesterday. The female (alone) builds the nest, a multilayered cup, lays the eggs (of course), and incubates them with no help from the male. His job appears to be “Lookout or Guard” and he feeds the female while she is on the nest; neither of which he does with much enthusiasm.
After one 45 minute session without him showing up to feed her, she hung out at the doorway, looking for him, when he finally returned he was scolded badly. One time she finally left the nest and came back with him. (the last 2 photos are of the female leaving the nest box to find the male) – notice how dirty and rusty her tail section and breast are !
Here area few photos of my encounter with them yesterday 4/5/14:
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