Hello everybody and welcome to a new instalment from VoiceforWildlife where today we will be delving into the life of a bird that is a true woodsman, a beautiful concoction of evolutionary looks - the Nuthatch.
The Nuthatch is a small, lively bird with a peculiar elongated body around 15 cm long. Their 20cm wings allow them to speed onto a source of food and then fly away before any predators have a chance for a quick meal. This bird is equipped with modest feather colouration, with an entirely golden-brown breast. Their straight back and wing feathers are coated in a rusty blue, prevented from spreading past the cap by a strip of grey-black that intercepts each eye towards the beak. The beak is long and thin tinged with a marble blue leading to a patch of pastel white just underneath the eye. Each leg is forward facing, projecting into two incredibly sharp talons and one more backwards facing. Both male and female display the same colouration and appear like a miniaturised Woodpecker as their bodies hug the side of trees, allowing them to 'climb' in all directions. Their call is a piercingly high pitched 'twoo twoo twoo' each note being long and drawn out.
These birds are rarely seen in Scotland, being a common sight across England and Wales in ancient woodland and mature parks, equipped with large dense populations of trees. Their small talons allow them a safe, effective grip on bark as they scramble gracefully from large oak trees to small, moss-covered tree stumps. Here they will probe the bark for insects and arachnids in summer - but mainly they will prance along the ground, when it is coated in a layer of leaves, poking around for any hazel and peanuts they can find. They will happily visit feeders, especially taking advantage of mesh peanut feeders providing important oils, but also picking through seed served on tables. These can be bought for various prices depending on what size and shape the appear in.
As they are usually found in woodland, the Nuthatch will usually nest in holes in trees or old nests left derelict from other birds. The sides will be condensed with mud and leaves being used for insulation. They will also use nest boxes giving us a great chance to get up close and personal, if the entrance hole is around 32mm in diameter. Breeding begins in April, along with many other species, meaning plenty of competition for nesting sights with up to 2 clutches being laid a year. An average of 10 eggs will be incubated solely by the female for around 30 days. The featherless and blind (altricial) young will then be born and fed by both the male and female before they fledge - leave the nest - 25 days later. They are successful breeders in the UK with over 200,000 territories (statistics given by the RSPB) leaving them with a green species status.
So next time you see a nervous Nuthatch using the rare opportunity of a clear bird table, give them a moment of safety, before re-filling the peanuts for their next visit.
(No credit is taken for the photo)
-please feel free to ask any questions you have-