Winter Bird Watching In Southern Ontario
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
The delightful Red-breasted nuthatch is one bird that has called southern Ontario its winter home. While Red-breasted nuthatches are found year round in the conifer forests in Northern parts of Ontario, many fly further south during the cooler season in search for food. They arrive in southern Ontario just in time to brighten a winter day and head back to cooler territory at the approach of spring. The Red-breasted nuthatch is mostly a solitary bird but is often seen traveling and foraging in the company of other birds such as chickadees, and compared to many other wild birds, doesn't seem that much bothered by the presence of us humans.
These small birds are well hidden in dense forests but if you keep a close eye out for them you may spot one or two in your backyard, especially if you have a bird feeder. And let me tell you, once this little bird discovers your bird feeder it will be coming back again and again. But don't expect it to sit around the feeder munching away, no, instead the Red-breasted nuthatch will grab a seed, fly away with it and a few minutes later will come back for more, similar to the way chickadees do.
Red-breasted nuthatches are easily distinguished from other birds both by their habits and appearance. They are bluish gray with an unmistakable black streak running through the eye to the back of the head and white eyebrow that runs alongside the black streak. Their chest and belly are a pale rusty orange and they have long thick bills and short tails. But what best sets nuthatches apart from other birds is their remarkable ability to walk up and down tree trunks. Unlike woodpeckers though, which use their tails for support as they climb the trunk of a tree, nuthatches have powerful strong legs and feet that enable them to stride up and down with ease.
Nuthatches are quite active little birds that don't stay in one spot for very long thus making them difficult to spot, they flit from twig to twig or, as they are often depicted in art, walk upside down the side of a tree looking in crevices for small insects. In winter their diet consists of seeds, so for those of us in southern Ontario our best chance to get a quick glimpse of the Red-breasted nuthatch is at the bird feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds, in fact that is where I became aware of their existence and got to see them for the very first time.
These little guys certainly brighten a cold winter day and if you don't mind standing in the cold with your hand stretched out filled with sunflower seeds you might even get one to eat out of your hand!
Did You Know?
Nuthatches got their name from putting nuts in the crevice of trees and then prying the nut open with their sturdy long beaks,"nut" "hatch", get it?
Red-breasted nuthatches favorite trees to hang out in are evergreen trees, preferably spruce and fir
They are songbirds, being quite vocal although sound quieter compared to some other songbirds
The Red-breasted nuthatch understands and knows how to interpret the call of chickadees
