Bill Hubick Photography - White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Above: A White-breasted Nuthatch at Point Lookout SP, St. Mary's Co., Maryland (10/7/2007), where the species probably only occurs at the point as a migrant. Below: Photographed in central Indiana (12/24/2005).

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch in Kent Co., Maryland (2/20/2011).

A White-breasted Nuthatch in Kent Co., Maryland (2/20/2011). Photo by Bill Hubick.

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch in Calvert Co., Maryland (9/7/2008).

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch in Carroll County, Maryland in January 2005.

Below two: A White-breasted Nuthatch photographed in Cecil Co., Maryland (1/2005).

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch in central Indiana (8/29/2009).

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch forages at Blairs Valley, Washington Co., Maryland (10/3/2009).

A White-breasted Nuthatch forages at Blairs Valley, Washington Co., Maryland (10/3/2009).

Below: A White-breasted Nuthatch visits our yard in Pasadena, Maryland (4/29/2012). Uncommon in our yard from April through September. Essentially a winter resident in our yard, though the species breeds at Fort Smallwood. Perhaps they'll nest a little closer this year and stay on for the summer.

A White-breasted Nuthatch visits our yard in Pasadena, Maryland (4/29/2012). Uncommon in our yard from April through September. Essentially a winter resident in our yard, though the species breeds at Fort Smallwood. Perhaps they'll nest a little closer this year and stay on for the summer. Photo by Bill Hubick.

Below: The White-breasted Nuthatches on the West Coast are different from our East Coast birds in many ways, most notably in their vocalizations. I'll post some recordings of them soon. (Photographed near Mt. Pinos, California, 10/1/2012)

The White-breasted Nuthatches on the West Coast are different from our East Coast birds in many ways, most notably in their vocalizations. I'll post some recordings of them soon. (Photographed near Mt. Pinos, California, 10/1/2012) Photo by Bill Hubick.

Comments: This common year-round resident of most of the U.S. prefers deciduous and mixed woodlands, where it adeptly forages along the trunks and branches of trees. Nuthatches are some of the only birds species that can climb down a tree head-first. They are frequent visitors to suburban feeders, and are always entertaining to watch. In the winter, nuthatches often join mixed foraging flocks with chickadees, titmice, Downy Woodpeckers, and Brown Creepers.

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