Just saw a Red Breasted Nuthatch at 2nd story window feeder!

3 years ago

I haven‘t seen any red breasted nuthatches for years and I just spotted on at our 25 ft up bedroom feeder eating BOS. I’m thrilled.

I hope more come by and stay for the winter. I’m not sure why they haven’t been visiting our feeders for several years — perhaps 5 years.

I’m in southern New England, zone 5a.

Have any of you seen them regularly?

Featured Answer

petalique
Original Author

3 years ago

I had not seen any of the RBN (red-breasted nuthatch) for perhaps 4 years, maybe longer. We are south of Babs, in mostly woods and wetlands with large areas of protected deciduous woods. There are black bear, and I don’t want to have them around our home and gardens, so none of our post feeders or bird tables are up.

There are oaks and red maples about 40 feet away, and a small hawthorn (left lower corner) about 20 ft away and some tall white lilac bushes. The birds can queue up on those small trees, and fly off into the woods in the background.

I was a bit surprised that the birds located these feeders soon after I put them up. First the prple finches, goldfinches and chickadees, followed by the white nuthatches, and titmice. Then the cardinals saw what was happening, then the bluejays. Downy woodpeckers too. Every now and then a starling drops by. Chipmunks and squirrels and mourning doves on the ground below, trying to hustle what little seed falls to the ground below.

The dents in the feeders are from when they have been knocked off the suction hooks and hit the ground below.

Its intertesting to note their behaviours and feeding styles. The cardinals come by for their last meal at deep dusk and come in the morning just as the dark is beginning to lift.

I am a bit wary of any black bear sniffing the BOS out and coming by, even though they cannot access the seed. Black bears seem to be increasing in numbers in the past few years. When I’ve spotted them, I’ve spoken to them in a loud, deep bossy voice.

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Comments (7)

Barrheadlass
3 years ago
Funny, i was just thinking yesterday that i hadn't seen one in several years. You are so lucky! I’m near Cape Cod.
petalique thanked Barrheadlass
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
3 years ago
I see them in the woods, usually in late winter, but the white-breasted are more common here in central NH. I am a bit surprised that they found such a high feeder. IME often birds struggle to find second floor feeders unless the area has nearby tall trees.
petalique thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
3 years ago
Nice that the birds have found the feeders! It sounds like you have good habitat, Petalique. And you get a wide range of birds at the feeders. I do understand your reason for the high birdfeeders.

I stopped feeding birds about 20 years ago when bears became a constant presence locally. I see at least one bear most years and see sign of more. This year, from what I observed combined with what others told me, I know that there were at least three bears in the cornfield next door, and since I don’t want them to transfer attention to my house after harvest, I am quite cautious. It used to be that I was fine by early December to not be concerned about the bears, but last year I saw bear footprints in light snow in early January. I try to make noise in the woods so they know where I am since happily they typically avoid people here.
petalique thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
petalique
Original Author
3 years ago
I remember you writing about your not having anybird feeders uo because of the many bears. You are one reason I had to re-evaluate. I read that a couple of weeks ago a blck bear attacked a 10 year old boy in CT (west-central). The bear tried to drag the youngster into the woods. IIRC, it was the child’s grandfather wo came to his rescue.

I don’t want to encounter one up close. I’ve already had one at my kitchen window. Fun to see on Youtube, or from afar, but I don’t want one kissing me.

Babs, I am a lurker and infrequent visitor to this forum, so I felt my heart sink when I learned you were moving. I’m glad that you will be living closer to your family, and wisconsin is beautiful — but it’s not next door. ;-(

You will definitely have to stay connected or we will need to lasso the cheese and summer sausage state and drag it east.

Are you going to take any of your plants? I have lived in Wisconsin (ages ago). Very nice people and lots of beautiful places. I don’t know when your moving, but I hope you have an easy move and fun doing it.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
3 years ago
Thanks, petalique. I am glad that you are starting to participate more, though lurkers are always welcome. I expect to be back next summer, so If you want to come up for a visit, I love garden visitors.

I am not taking any plants this trip, though I will be moving some plants to a garden on a piece of the farm that I won’t be selling. I think it will be too late to do transplants this season since I hope to be on the road in about two weeks, And I think my car will be full of things too precious to trust to the movers, like 2 bins of my husband’s hand-turned wooden bowls and the dog. ;-)

But I do expect that I will have a carload of plants next fall when the gravel mulch in my new gardens has been removed and the beds given some TLC and widened. i am planning to fence a piece of the yard for the dog to run and want plants along the fence. I also have a drainage corridor behind the house that was recently redone, so I want small trees and shrubs to plant there.

Right now the move is a bit challenging, but I will survive the transition taking a day at a time.
petalique thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
petalique
Original Author
3 years ago
Finally, I made it back! Busy days for everyone, and by now, Babs, you’ve reached Wisconsin, had a wonderful Thanksgiving, but are still unpacking?

I thought of you and your DH last week with that wild Lakes snowstorm and sure hoped you were not having to drive through it. Did you manage to avoid it?

Yes, indeed, I would love to get together with you next summer. How nice that you chose to hold onto some of your land.

Yay that your DH makes wooden bowls. I’ve never seen a wooden bowl I didn’t fall for. I love burl too. I few years ago, a 6 - 7” diameter sassafrass tree fell over. The wood is pretty plaine, but I intended/hoped to find someone to mill some of it into some boards because I wanted something like a spoon or mudler from it; maybe a cutting board. Never got to do that.

I hope all is going well with your move.