The weather has kept me out of the field lately, so today I wanted to share a few Red-breasted Nuthatch memories since I’ve been seeing and hearing them recently.

Red-breasted Nuthatch foraging in the Stansbury Mountains of Utah, West Desert, Tooele CountyRed-breasted Nuthatch foraging in the Stansbury Mountains of Utah – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/250, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I’ve been hearing Red-breasted Nuthatches in the trees where I live but haven’t been able to get good views or photographs of them.

Here I only see Red-breasted Nuthatches in the fall and winter. In Utah, I could find, see, hear, and photograph this nuthatch species year round.

I took this Red-breasted Nuthatch photo at a North Willow Canyon campground in the Stansbury Mountains, which are out in the West Desert of Utah.

In 2018 I went exploring in the canyons of that mountain range because I knew that ‘routines’ were causing me to miss out on forest and mountain birds.

My explorations were spot on and I soon observed, photographed, and enjoyed those bird species. The only problem I really faced was that some of those canyons closed after the first snows of the season and didn’t reopen until spring.

I savored every quiet moment I had with the Red-breasted Nuthatches in the West Desert and the other mountain birds I found out there.

Red-breasted Nuthatches don’t breed where I live now, but White-breasted Nuthatches do. I truly enjoy getting to see both of these nuthatch species.

If I go and do more exploring here, I might even get to photograph Pygmy Nuthatches too.

Life is good.

Mia

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