Red-breasted Nuthatches Hanging Upside Down

Red-breasted Nuthatch in the Stansbury Mountains – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I photographed more Red-breasted Nuthatches yesterday morning and these nuthatches spent a lot of time hanging upside down on Douglas Fir cones. They basically have to hang on that way so that they have easy access to the seeds in the cones.

I noticed several of the nuthatches flying away with the seeds and that most likely means they are caching them to store and eat later on this winter when foraging can get tough because of cold temps and poor weather. Some of the seeds were eaten right away too.

I often hear these nuthatches before I see them and to my ears their call is very distinctive, a recording of a male can be heard here.

Red-breasted Nuthatch hanging upside down – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/400, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

The Red-breasted Nuthatches that I photographed foraging and hanging upside down yesterday weren’t calling, they seem to be quiet during that activity but I could hear other nuthatches in the trees all around me. I’m glad that I was able to photograph the nuthatches again yesterday. I had planned on sharing only one image of them today but I liked these two so much I figured why not post them both.

I also saw some Brown Creepers but I wasn’t able to obtain a single decent image of that species, they stay so close to the trunks of trees that it was difficult to get a single clear shot of them.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Red-breasted Nuthatch photos plus facts and information on this species.