A regular visitor
We have white-breasted nuthatches year round at our feeders.
They are always welcome with decurved, fancy name for up turned, bills.
This winter we are seeing them more often along with their smaller relatives the red-breasted nuthatch.
It's been a hard winter for all the animals and we are going through more bird seed than usual.
Sitta carolinensis
In winter, White-breasted Nuthatches join foraging flocks led by chickadees or titmice, perhaps partly because it makes food easier to find and partly because more birds can keep an eye out for predators. One study found that when titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and less willing to visit exposed bird feeders.
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