A couple of nuthatches returned to the garden this morning. Creeping up and down the branches and trunk of the willow tree, they found the
peanut feeders in no time at all. They rarely come during spring and early
summer, spending this time breeding in the nearby woods. It’s always a welcome
sight when they reappear, and they’ll probably visit us each day now until late
next winter.
It’s interesting to see their interaction with the other
birds at the feeders. Great-spotted woodpeckers are kings, using their
sword-like bills to repel all others at the peanuts. However apart from loosing
out to the odd grey squirrel, jackdaws and jays, nuthatches do pretty well.
Like the woodpeckers they use their dagger-like bills to easily deter any small
bird that dare to approach. Larger birds aside, only blue tits seem to have
the guts to land on the feeders when the nuthatches are around, but they’re
immediately seen off. Other tit species also don’t stand a chance, and
greenfinches, chaffinches and house sparrows lack the courage to even attempt a
landing, preferring to hang about on the ground below with the robins and
dunnocks, picking up the bits hacked out by the energetic nuthatches.
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