The next bird of West Virginia’s over 350 species is the white-breasted nuthatch. These birds can be found in forested areas, like WV’s Kanawha State Forest or other similar areas. They build their nests in old woodpecker holes or in rotted out crevices in trees. Here are some facts about the white-breasted nuthatch
Identification
Males and females both have clawed feet that allow them to easily grip tree bark, sometimes they will be spotted appearing upside down on the tree while searching for food. The bending they do helps them find hard to find insects.
Coloring
gray-blue on the back
white face and chest
To attract White Breasted Nuthatches
When you’re wanting to attract nuthatches to your yard, a natural forest-like set up could help. If you’re in a place you can plant trees- they live in deciduous forests but will settle for mixed forests. A lot of the time they will make an old woodpecker nest their home.
If you want to see them at your feeder, large seeds like sunflower seeds, peanuts and suet are a good addition to your normal bird food.
Average Size
Length: 5.1-5.5 in
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz
Wingspan: 7.9-10.6 in
Other Facts
They can grip trees to walk up and down, and twist so it appears they are upside down in order to find insects and other food sources that are easily missed.
They are foragers during the winter but live on primarily insects that live in trees
They live with one mate and don’t allow other nutchatch birds to come in their territory
The female builds the nest and uses any material she can find
Nuthatch birds peck seeds to open them and they look like they are hatching- which is why they are called “nuthatches”