I have spent the past twenty four hours wondering where to go for a spot of Birdwatching this week. In the end I decided to go down to Forest Farm as I haven’t had a woodland bird fest for a little while. Whilst I am there, there is one bird I will all hope to get close up and personal with. I never ever tire of seeing a Nuthatch.
I had my first encounter with a Nuthatch at Symonds Yat a number of years back now. It was just a fleeting glimpse. My brother had already seen it and had a good view of it. As is the way in Birdwatching, when someone says look over there, the object swiftly flies off the moment you train the binoculars on it! I was a little frustrated to say the least. A few months later found me moving house. We had chosen the house which backed on to woodland so we would attract some birds onto a feeding station. We had access to the house the day before we moved so I took the feeding station up the night before and loaded it with goodies. I honestly didn’t expect anything to be on them the next day whilst we were moving. These things take time I was told. The following morning I arrived back at the house, and peaked through the patio blinds … the feeding station was absolutely mobbed! But there, bang in the middle of the feeding frenzy was not just one but two of the most gorgeous Nuthatches you would ever want to see. For the next two years we lived in that house it was an almost daily companion in our garden.
Its sleek look and its bandit eye stripe make it my favourite bird to photograph. They are usually obliging enough to pull a pose as they scamper down a tree trunk; it’s the only bird in the UK that can walk downwards.
There is a simple rule to remember if you see a bird scampering down a tree trunk; it is definitely a Nuthatch, if it meets a small mouse like bird scampering up and around the tree trunk in circles, then that will be a Tree Creeper.
They get their name for their feeding habit of getting a seed, wedging it in a crack in a branch, and hammering it like a woodpecker to try and get at the flesh within.
I recently saw a Nuthatch calling near my home. I had never seen that before, despite seeing them regularly in my old garden. His calling clearly worked, as when we returned a week later there were a pair in the same spot, and they were most definitely prospecting for nest holes. They have quite an interesting nesting strategy, using holes left by woodpeckers or naturally formed, the female is “sealed” into the nest by the male, who uses mud to make the hole smaller. This stops predators like Grey Squirrels from attacking the young. We were really lucky to see one little dumpy Nuthatch fledgling in the old garden. I know they are still surviving up there as I am contact with our old landlord who moved back into his house.
I must confess I miss them more than any other bird from that amazing garden.
The birds at Forest Farm are very confiding in humans. There is a steady stream of people wandering up and down the canal with plenty of seeds and tit bits for the birds to feed on. You almost always get your own personal Robin as you walk along. Blue Tits and Great Tits will be landing on the feeding areas before you’ve even finished putting food down, but when I spot that light blue torpedo like bird dart onto a tree trunk my heart beat picks up, because I know I am in for as much of a treat as them!
All Images © Anthony Walton
Excellent blog as always - with some cracking photos!