Monday, March 16, 2009

Nuthatches and the Nesting Box

Various bird houses hang from the trees throughout the woods at our house. At the end of the season we clean all the bird houses and leave them in place for the winter. One of the houses apparently got used after we cleaned it. This house is favored by the Chickadees.

On Monday I looked out to see a White-breasted Nuthatch coming and going at the bird house. What a surprise.

She came out of the house with her mouth totally full of nesting material.


She struggled at times to get the big globs through the opening.

She carried them to the tree trunk.



Both of the nuthatches worked. Here they are passing something from one to the other.



The pieces of material were placed on a branch near the tree trunk. Methodically, the two nuthatches flew from the bird house to the tree and back. The gentle wind kept blowing the material from the branches as it accumulated.




This bird stopped what she was doing and looked straight at me and the camera. Then she resumed her work.
After removing quite a bit of material, the nuthatch began tucking the material under the eaves of the bird house.






I watched for a very long time as the nuthatch went about her job. She definitely had a plan.



To our amusement, the nuthatches worked all day long to clean out the bird house. Taking short breaks to eat or drink, they kept on working. At the end of the afternoon, the bird house looked like this:


They left lots of nesting material tucked under the eaves. Then they pulled more material to cover the opening. I've never seen such a sight. On Tuesday morning, one of the nuthatches returned and I looked forward to another fun day of watching. She removed all the material from inside the house. Then she took the stuffing from under the eaves, leaving the bird house totally clean.
Neither of the nuthatches has been seen entering or leaving the bird house since Tuesday. I wonder what they are thinking.
at

34 comments:

  1. Lynne at Hasty BrookMarch 16, 2009 at 9:53 AM

    What a fun thing to watch and to share with us. I think it's the best thing about birding, just watching them intereact and go about their daily lives. Don't you wonder what they think? Are they purely driven by instinct or do they think through a process?

    LOVE this post. It really made me smile.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cedar ...March 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM

    Fascinating! Keep us posted, ok?

    ReplyDelete
  3. RuthieJMarch 16, 2009 at 10:12 AM

    Well, that's pretty interesting about your nuthatches Carolyn--I thought they were cavity nesters! Do you suppose they just are moving all that nesting material from your house to another of their own choosing? Great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Betsy Banks AdamsMarch 16, 2009 at 10:16 AM

    Wow---how interesting, Carolyn.. Wonder if they were building a nest in the tree on the branch--and using the 'stuff' from inside the nestbox????? Keep us posted. I could watch that over and over.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  5. MonicaMarch 16, 2009 at 10:50 AM

    Hello!
    Thanks for your lovely words...
    I am soo happy with my Golden, love her very much!
    Your photos are precious and so sweet!
    Monica.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dog_geekMarch 16, 2009 at 11:28 AM

    Cool pictures! I guess the nuthatches are going green this year and are into recycling!

    ReplyDelete
  7. robin andreaMarch 16, 2009 at 12:35 PM

    What a great series of photos. It will be interesting to see what they were up to. I hope they come back and build their nest where you can keep an eye on it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kerri FarleyMarch 16, 2009 at 12:53 PM

    Nature at it's finest! What a neat way to spend the day...watching these guys do their building.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carol MurdockMarch 16, 2009 at 3:00 PM

    Carolyn.....
    Your pictures are always so AWESOME
    how do you capture such great up close shots?

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMarch 16, 2009 at 3:30 PM

    Now that is what I call spring cleaning! Great pictures. The one where she gives you the eye made me laugh out loud.

    ReplyDelete
  11. CherylMarch 16, 2009 at 3:33 PM

    Oh this is such a wonderful post...the photography is great......tku for sharing this wonderful piece of nature at its best......

    ReplyDelete
  12. TinaMarch 16, 2009 at 4:50 PM

    After a long winter of reading and posting winter scenes and winter birds...your post was very refreshing to read..I think I could also sit for hours watching any of the birds build or rearrange a nest..What great photos you captured and I am anxious to hear what happens next!!'
    Great post!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. ShelleyMarch 16, 2009 at 5:02 PM

    I loved these photos - so interesting and fun to watch them at work!! And do you think perhaps they thought by putting nesting material in the eaves that they were creating extra insulation? I hope you keep track of these cuties!

    ReplyDelete
  14. GeorgeMarch 16, 2009 at 5:35 PM

    Thanks for a fascinating post with great pictures. I've never seen such behavior as you captured.

    ReplyDelete
  15. KimMarch 16, 2009 at 6:09 PM

    Wonderful post!!! I have never seen the nest making process so this was a real treat!! I too wonder what they were doing.

    You are so lucky being able to put up nest boxes. I could never do it in my yard due to house sparrows and too many roaming cats!

    ReplyDelete
  16. cedrorumMarch 16, 2009 at 6:10 PM

    Wow, great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  17. 100 Thoughts of LoveMarch 16, 2009 at 6:14 PM

    She is thinking.."honey, help me move the furniture again!"

    ReplyDelete
  18. This Is My Blog - fishing guyMarch 16, 2009 at 7:12 PM

    Carolyn: Not only a fun day of watching; definetly a fun day of capturing all the action. I loved the post.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wisconsin BirderMarch 16, 2009 at 7:20 PM

    Hi Carolyn,
    thanks for stopping by my blog. Always great to connect with someone who is (or was) in Wisconsin. Great post on the nuthatch - how fun to see!

    ReplyDelete
  20. The BirdladyMarch 16, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    Great shots and what fun! I've had just about everything nest in my boxes except nuthatches...they share a cavity in a tree with squirrels - the squirrels use it in the winter, then the nuthatches chase them away and nest there in the spring and summer.

    ReplyDelete
  21. John's Arts & CraftsMarch 16, 2009 at 7:53 PM

    Great photos! Birds are not the only creatures needing nesting boxes! New blog on the Hx. of the Ladybug: http://historyoftheladybug.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  22. KBMarch 16, 2009 at 10:40 PM

    Awesome photos! I love them.

    What kind of camera do you use to get such great zoomed photos?

    ReplyDelete
  23. JayneMarch 17, 2009 at 6:44 AM

    How funny! What great shots of them working feverishly Carolyn. I've had the Brown-headed nuthatches build in a house and posted a photo once of their beautifully intricate nest.

    ReplyDelete
  24. troutbirderMarch 17, 2009 at 6:56 AM

    Amazing. Now is it legal, according to state or federal regulations, to remove the furnishings from anothers house to your own?

    ReplyDelete
  25. jan mMarch 17, 2009 at 7:23 AM

    I had to do a birdhouse clean-out here. Wish I had a nuthatch working for me. It's neat that you were able to see the process over time.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Cicero SingsMarch 17, 2009 at 11:08 AM

    What an interesting series of photos and account!

    ReplyDelete
  27. grammyMarch 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM

    I like the birdhouse with the tin roof. Did you make it?

    ReplyDelete
  28. nina at Nature Remains.March 17, 2009 at 8:43 PM

    I bet you could have watched all day!

    ReplyDelete
  29. NCmountainwomanMarch 17, 2009 at 9:39 PM

    Thanks for all your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the nuthatches as much as we did.

    Ruthie - I didn't see them fly away with any of the materials. And they didn't seem concerned when the wind blew it away. I do think it is rather rare for nuthatches to use bird houses, and we have plenty of cavities in the trees nearby. I will be surprised if they actually build a nest in the house. There's been no activity since Tuesday.

    Carol and KB - I use a Nikon D50 and I love it. For whatever reason, this model is no longer made. I've tried the new ones, but I don't like them as well. I use a Nikkor lens, 70-300mm for most bird shots.

    Shelley - The nuthatch removed all the material from the eaves the next day.

    Tina and Nina - I DID sit and watch most of the day! After I went inside, I kept coming back to the window for more. During lunch, my husband and I did nothing but watch them from the kitchen table.

    Grammy - We bought the bird house from a local craftsman. We like things a little different and this one is easy to clean. I hope the birds like to hear the rain on the tin roof. It is usually used by the chickadees all summer.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Jeannette StGMarch 17, 2009 at 10:51 PM

    what a busy little bird - it's kinda cute to see "someone" else work so hard!

    ReplyDelete
  31. RuthMarch 17, 2009 at 11:25 PM

    How interesting. I am waiting for the sequel!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dave's Bird Watching BlogMarch 19, 2009 at 1:06 PM

    How cool that you got to observe this! Great pictures and storytelling, Carolyn. Now get your brackets filled out and head inside for some hoops! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  33. LeedraMarch 19, 2009 at 10:03 PM

    They wanted to be sure no other bird came and got their stash so they made it look like they were at home there. When they were done they didn't care 'who' came to use the cleaned out house. This was a neat post, really enjoyed it.

    Leedra’s Photos For Fun

    Leedra’s Greeting Cards

    Photography By Leedra

    ReplyDelete
  34. Robin EastonMarch 21, 2009 at 1:20 PM

    Lucky lucky you getting to photograph this whole thing. I too LOVE birds and am forever amazed at how intelligent they are. I often rescue them from the neighbors' cats. Luckily we have a wildlife sanctuary near by and they give the birds antibiotics and are able to hear almost 600 - 800 a year and release them back into the wild.

    You photos are just beyond precious
    Thank you for sharing them.
    Robin Easton
    www.nakedineden.com

    ReplyDelete