Female White-breasted Nuthatch

It took a couple weeks but the White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) have returned, after no bird feeding for quite a while.

They’re cute little birds that make a sound like an old toy tin car tooting its little horn. Or think of that little car laughing as it moves about. That’s the sound of the White-breasted Nuthatch.

This one is a female. There’s a subtle difference in the coloring of the male and female. The two, mostly black, white, and gray. The female more subtle grays, less strong, contrasty blacks, and whites.

I’m totally enjoying having these little guys around again, sounding like that little toy car.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.