white-breasted nuthatch

White breasted nuthatch have arrived.

The fall sort of creeps in here, in upper east Tennessee. This morning it was 60 in the house. The heat came on for a bit but the air warmed quickly. It’ll be a nice day. Friday’s high was 80. Saturday was in the 60s and blowing hard. Typical gyrations of weather in these parts.

Besides my walnuts dropping like rain, one of the other, of many, signs of coming winter is the arrival of the white-breasted nuthatch (sitta carolinensis).

White-breasted are small, the book says five inches. Compared to blue-jays and mockers it is on the littler side. White breasted, as named, white cheek, white throat. The first give away to ID one is you’ll see a flash of all that white.

What makes them a bit more fun is their eating habit. They like to start high up on the tree and work their way down in a spiral around the tree.

Going head first.

They rummage at the bottom of the trunk and zoom up high and start all over again. They are fun to watch.

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