One of the many advantages and enjoyments of feeding birds in the garden is watching them, often at close quarters. Just occasionally unusual birds turn up and these includes such birds as jay, crossbill, moorhen, woodcock, blackcap or even a magpie. Then there are the rarities and such was the case recently with readers in North Kessock on the Black Isle who sent me an Email about such as rarity in their garden. It must have been quite a surprise to see a small but brightly coloured bird at the feeders they had put out. There are not many birds that have blue upperparts but such as the case with their bird as it was a nuthatch. This blue contrasts with the peach coloured feathers of the underparts and the vivid broad black stripe running through its eye to the back of the head. The query in their Email was why it was there as their books said it did not occur this far north in Scotland. The nuthatch fed on a peanut holder to start with and then, for a long time, took insects from the trunk of a tree. It stayed in the garden for some time during the day but was not seen again the next day. Interestingly about that time there were other reports of nuthatch in the Highlands such as at Carrbridge and two records in Caithness at Wick and Westerdale.
The reason the books did not indicate records this far north is that it is a very recent development. The growing numbers in England spread over the border from about 1970 and have slowly filtered their way north. No doubt this has been helped by the very extensive woodlands on the side of the Great Glen affording ideal countryside for such birds as nuthatches. In the last couple of years the records have been very sparse indeed and some people thought the “invasion” had halted. So the recent records may indicate that these delightful woodland birds are on the move northwards again. The records for Caithness are particularly significant in this respect. So, readers keep your eyes open for these small, about the size of a great tit, attractive birds in your garden.
There are a number of fascinating aspects to the life of a nuthatch and perhaps none more so than their nest site. They will choose natural holes in trees but will adapt to nestboxes and they have even been found nesting In holes in walls. The fascinating aspect of such nest sites is that they alter them so that the entrance hole is only just large enough to take them. This means that most predators will have a job getting into the nest. They do this by the female lining the outer edge of a hole with mud, very unusual. Another unusual habit is that they are the only Scottish bird that can descend a tree trunk head first and it looks rather strange as it will turn after climbing up a trunk and descend in the opposite direction, almost uncanny. Another unusual; habit is that, like the coal tit, the nuthatch will store food for later consumption. They will visit feeders such as those containing peanuts and will continually fly off to cache the food somewhere such a the crack in a tree. They do this so often they can even empty a feeder. Hard nuts are wedged in cracks in a tree and then the powerful beak is used to smash open the food leading to its names of “nuthacker” and “nut jobber”.
Tags: highland wildlife