Saturday, January 18, 2020

White-breasted Nuthatch

I felt like it was time; my hands are getting stronger.  So I got out my trustworthy old Nikon with its zoom lens and had it ready by the window.  As luck would have it, a few minutes later a White-breasted Nuthatch flew in to our feeder, one of the first interesting birds in a month.  Then it hopped over to the suet feeder right outside the window, and I was ready.

Of course it dashed off in a flash of wings to a tree before I knew it, and headed up the trunk - up and up and up.  But I followed it and got a few distant pictures.  I was pleased that I could hold the heavy (to me) camera steady with both hands.

Then I spotted another flash of white out of the corner of my eye, and soon found a second bird.  They;re probably travelling as a pair; this is typical for these nuthatches all year long.  Up the trunk and then down the trunk they explored for tidbits of food.

For several moments one sat still on a branch, apparently just resting.  From this angle you can clearly see why it's labelled the 'White-breasted' Nuthatch!  In my experience these nuthatches usually travel with a small band of Chickadees during the winter, but I saw no Chickadees this morning.

Once, very briefly, I captured them in the same shot.

And this is the very first shot I took while the nuthatch was on the suet feeder.  One of those pictures shot against white snow that left the bird a dark shape, so I lightened this significantly, turning the snow bluish.  I also cropped all of these a little and one heavily, but with the Nikon the focus is good enough to allow for that.  I'm pleased to be able to get these pictures at all!

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Steady fairly heavy snow here today, though it's only up to 3 or 4 inches yet.  We're expecting a good deal more by tonight.  One of the heaviest bands on the radar is just getting to us.  I think we should be thanking Texas or someone for this!

Great pictures of the snow that hit Newfoundland on the Weather Network.  Drifts 6-8 feet deep, sidewalks just a canyon through the snow - one for the history books!







13 comments:

  1. Great shots today - the nuthatch on the suet feeder was a treat to see. Great that your Nikon is 'back in service'.
    Joy

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  2. They are great at escaping the lens of the camera and then scolding you for being there!

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  3. Such a cute little bird, lovely photographs.

    All the best Jan

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  4. You got some great pics with the Nikon! We got about 15 cm of snow here in the city.

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  5. Besides some great photos this is a major step in rehabilitation.

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  6. Ya done good! Since I'm a Canon guy it hurts a bit to say you got good photos with your Nikon, but you did -- congratulations.

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  7. I enjoyed your pictures and considering how quickly they move you did an excellent job of eye and hand coordination!

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  8. Hello, Great captures of the Nuthatch! They are cute! Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week ahead.

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  9. Although smart phones can take great pictures the image falls apart quickly when enlarged or cropping is applied. Quality and control returns when one uses DSLR cameras like Nikon, Canon, and Sony, etc. Glad to see you getting your Nikon back into action. I like your Nuthatch photos.

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  10. i'm so happy for you fg, i'm sure it felt awesome to be taking pictures like these again!!! it is a great bird to spend time with...they look a little chubby, have you been over feeding them?!?!

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  11. I'm sure that Nuthatch knew you were getting the Nikon out. :) Beautiful pictures, the birds are so intriguing with their looks and head tilts.
    Hope your snow doesn't anywhere equal Nfld. They sure have a disaster out there.

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  12. I love all the pictures, but especially that last closeup. They are such pretty birds. :-)

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