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Nifty and
nimble nuthatches!
Nuthatches are probably one of the easiest backyard
birds to identify. If you see a bird creeping downward on a
tree, it's a nuthatch. It's the only species that can "walk
down a tree." It needs no tail support because it has
incredibly strong feet!
That said, generally you
won't see too many nuthatches in your yard. Most nuthatches
visit feeders in ones and twos. They are feisty and aggressive
birds, and pairs generally defend a territory of 10 to 30
acres. They feast on seeds and insects found in trees, and
many times will hide seeds from feeders in tree bark for a
snack later in the day or breakfast the next
morning.
Red-breasted and
White-breasted nuthatches are the most common
visitors to feeders in North America. They enjoy suet,
sunflower seeds and peanuts. Red-breasted Nuthatches are
pickier than White-breasted Nuthatches, and their diet is made
up mainly of conifer seeds. During years when these seeds
aren't plentiful, Red-breasted Nuthatches will move south (or
irrupt) in search of food.
Pygmy
Nuthatches live in ponderosa forests in the West and
survive the bitter winter nights by roosting with 50 to 100 or
more other Pygmy Nuthatches in tree cavities. With so many
birds in the cavity, they stay warm and can lower their
metabolic rate to conserve energy.
Another species,
Brown-headed Nuthatches, live primarily in
the Southeast United States in mature pine forests. These
birds live in flocks, although they do not have the
"sleepovers" the Pygmy Nuthatches have.
To attract nuthatches to
your yard, try a suet or peanut feeder as well as a blend high
in sunflower. | 
