White-breasted Nuthatch: a tale of avian home invasion
On one of my morning bird walks, I witnessed a home invasion.
It seems that a pair of violet-green swallows had selected a cozy oak tree cavity for their nest. They went in and out, but so did an Acorn Woodpecker, a starling, and a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches. Since I’d frequently seen these swallows in the same tree the year before, I assumed that the tree cavity was theirs.
Nuthatch adding a hardwood floor to nest site
Not so fast. While this pair of swallows sat on a limb enjoying the morning sun, the nuthatches repeatedly entered the cavity and pulled out all the previous nesting material. After a day or so of this activity, and without any apparent objection on the part of the swallows, the nuthatches completely took over the nest site. They brought in the requisite fluff for a comfy nest, along with several chunks of tree bark, including one about 1”x4” in size. I think the lady of the house was building a two story townhome.
Nuthatch walking down tree trunk
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a joy to watch as it moves quickly along tree branches. It will frequently hang upside-down on the underside of a limb like a rock climber. A backward facing toe allows it to scramble straight down a tree trunk, (which they do adroitly), pausing along the way, head up and beak pointing outward.
Nuthatches love black oiled sunflower seeds. This I know from observing the birds empty my feeder. They don’t always eat the seeds right away, though. Instead, nuthatches cache them in tree bark for winter nourishment when other food is scarce.
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White-breasted nuthatch caching a sunflower seed.
