The Upside Down Bird

What's blueish-gray in colour, the size of a Pine Siskin, and enjoys spending lots of time upside down? These unique little birds are a frequent visitor to most backyards, often following chickadees to feed from feeders. 

The Red-breasted Nuthatch!

There are three species of nuthatches in British Columbia. The Red-breasted is the most common, and the White-breasted frequents the Okanagan along with the smallest nuthatch; the Pygmy. In Nanaimo, we've had the odd White-breasted sighting. Once near Bowen Park, and another time in the Stephenson Point area. 

In comparison to woodpeckers, who travel up tree trunks looking for insect larvae and eggs, nuthatches start at the top and work their way down. Their upside down habit persists even at backyard feeders. Nuthatches feed sideways or upside down on suet cages, and will take seeds from seed feeders to wedge into a tree trunk so they can turn upside down and crack the shell open for the seed. 

When it comes to identifying the nuthatch, they have many unique features that can be used to describe them. They are sometimes described as the "bird with no tail" as they have very short tails, or as a "little bird with no neck" due to their compact shape. The Red-breasted Nuthatch can be easily identified from it's call, a nasal yak yak yak sound that can be heard as they move through the trees. This bird is about 4 1/2" in size, with an 8" wingspan. They have a blueish-gray back and wings with a rufous (rusty) coloured underside and chest. The head has been described as both black with a white cheek stripe and white eyebrow, and white with a black cap and black eye stripe. Their slender, pointed bill is similar to that of a chickadee, and is designed to dig for insect eggs and larvae as well as get seeds out of cones. Their bill is not made to crush seeds like finches do, so when they feed on sunflower seeds they take one at a time to wedge into tree bark, and peck it open for their reward before returning for another seed. 

Like chickadees and Steller's Jays (and squirrels), nuthatches cache seeds, hiding them around as an emergency food source. Ideally, they would never need to touch these stores of seeds. If you ever have sunflowers growing out of a crack or other strange places, you may have had a bird caching seed there over winter.

To attract Red-breasted Nuthatches to your yard you can provide them with their preferred food sources such as sunflower seeds, peanut halves or other nuts, and suet. Nuthatches will use open tray feeders, tube style feeders, and hopper feeders. They are also able to access suet in anything from an onion sack to an upside down suet feeder. 

When nesting, nuthatches use cavities and build their nests inside. Like chickadees, wrens, swallows, and house sparrows, nuthatches will use nest boxes. The nest box should have a hole size of 1 1/8", just big enough for them but too small for House Sparrows to reduce the risk of the nuthatches being forced out. The nest box is ideally placed near Fir and Cedar trees as these trees are their usual habitat, and the entrance hole should face away from weather as much as possible. Make sure when placing the box not to bury it deep in branches. When looking for cavities to nest in, these little birds are searching for that dark hole, which can be difficult to find when the box is too deep in cover.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a bold little bird with unique habits that make it easily identifiable. They are brave enough to sometimes take seeds right from your hand, and are a joy to watch flit about with the chickadees. 

Happy Birding!

 

Bushtits

Have you ever looked out at your suet feeder only to see it covered in small greyish birds? Those are Bushtits, and they are a very social group during the winter months. Bushtits travel around in flocks of 40+ birds and only have one goal: food. Typically, bushtits feed on insects and can be spotted bouncing around in shrubs and trees looking for their next meal. While they primarily go for insects, you can find the bushtits at your suet feeder and even sometimes going for the hulled sunflower and peanuts as a supplementary food supply. As they are very social birds, you are likely to see ten or twelve of them on your suet feeder at once, before they fly off for the next group of twelve. Once the flock has fed, they are off as quickly as they came. 

Bushtits are commonly—and accurately—described as small grey birds without any field markings that are always on the move. They are about 4 inches in size, slightly smaller than a chickadee, with a tail that looks long compared to their body. The bushtits are grey with a bit of a brownish colour on their head, and no other field markings. They have tiny bills, smaller than those of a chickadee. Bushtits are always moving, and they are also chattering to each other constantly with short tseep and tsip calls. Often you can hear them high in the treetops long before you see them.

When spring arrives, Bushtits pair up for nesting and become more territorial. Bushtit nests are a unique 'sack' shape that hangs below a branch. They weave their nests together from the top down. with the entrance hole at the top. Bushtits nests are between seven and ten inches long, and take roughly thirty days to construct. They build their nests with fine fibers, leaves, grass, and spider webs, and cover it with moss for camouflage. The inside of the nest is lined with feathers, plant down, and hair. Bushtits nests are often not well hidden and can be spotted alongside trails and paths if you look closely. Do be cautious, as bushtits get nervous during nesting season and if they are disturbed while they build their nests or incubate their eggs, they will often abandon the nest and separate from their chosen partner to start over somewhere else. 

Keep an eye out for these energetic birds at your backyard suet feeder or in trees and shrubs, as they are a great joy to watch flit about. 

Good birding!

Winter Help for the Birds

 

WINTER HELP FOR THE BIRDS

Written by Colin Bartlett

Now that the winter weather has arrived it is important for the birds that the bird feeders and baths are available. Although birds do not put on fat to help keep them warm they do need to feed frequently to keep their energy levels full, as this is what will keep them warm during the night.

Keeping the feeder topped up with dry seed is a great help to many of the birds seen in the backyard but what about those that winter here and feed on berries and ground insects like the American Robins. One way is to place a piece of plywood, tarp, or some object on the garden or lawn. This cover will create a warm spot and keep the soil from freezing so when the snow flies simply move the cover which will allow access to the bugs in the garden. Another option is to turn the garden soil, about 12 inches deep, which will give access for the birds to find insects.

Other food that can be placed out for the robins and thrush are apples, blueberries, and even cranberries. Cut the apples into quarters or halves and place them along with the berries on a tray in a tree or area that you see the robins frequenting. You may also see the juncos and towhees enjoying them.

Water is another important part of bird daily living, especially in freezing temperatures. Birds use the water for drinking as well as bathing, even in the cold temperatures. They need to keep their feathers clean and organized to keep them warm. If there is any dirt in their feathers it allows cold to get in, similar if your winter coat had a hole in it. A bird bath heater can be used to keep a bird bath from freezing and attract the birds to your backyard as it will probably be the only water source available. The convenience is not going out every morning in the cold to deice the bird bath. If the bird bath is put away for the winter use a shallow dish, about one inch deep, as a temporary bird bath or with a deeper dish place some rocks in the dish to create a shallow pool for the birds.

Winter months are a hard time for the birds especially when covered in snow and ice. Each day the birds need to intake enough energy to survive the day and night and then do it all over again the next day. For most of our other backyard visitors keeping the bird feeders filled with good seed so that it is available first thing in the morning for them to top up their energy used over night is a great help.

Good Birding!

Colin Bartlett