Taking a morning stroll in the forest after a winter storm has passed is one of my favorite times to spend outdoors. The warmth of the sun awakens the land, and the inhabitants emerge from their snowy slumber with great vigor and chatter. It is as though all are anxious and happy to be free of the winter’s snowy grip. One voice tends to stand out to my ears, simply due to its seemingly joyful laugh among the trees. It is that of the diminutive nuthatch.

Here in Colorado we tend to see three different species, the white breasted, red breasted and pygmy, though not necessarily all together at the same time. All of which, however, typically take their forage in flocks with other species, usually joined by chickadees, an occasional downy woodpecker or elusive brown creeper, and sometimes juncos. These groups, like any flock, provide greater numbers with which to watch for predators while they feed, as well as lending to a more cooperative approach to their feeding as a group.

While we well know the woodpeckers to pound away at their quarry, the chickadees often take to the outer branches, plying the needles and pine cones for seeds and insects. This leaves the nuthatches to work the inner branches and trunk in their unique way.

While all three species are quite agile in their maneuvering, nuthatches are the only birds in North America that have the ability to climb upside down. This gives them a very distinct advantage at finding insects that the other species can’t see. All of this tree feeding also tends to knock down food for the juncos, who are typically ground feeders, thus rounding out the efficiency of the mixed flock as a whole.

All of this bustling about the trees makes for quite the playful atmosphere, as though the winter morning forage is more of a festive gathering than a necessary daily struggle. The laughing call of the nuthatch only adds mirth to the tittering menagerie as they hop down the tree trunks, chuckling away as they pry at the bark. It is reminiscent to me of us humans gathering for breakfast at the local diner, and chattering away about the latest gossip before heading off into our days.

An added bonus to wildlife photographers and general observers is that nuthatches are not overly shy of humans as most birds tend to be, and occasionally give pause from their breakfast to provide a sassy inverted pose before returning to their meals. This bold white breasted specimen showed quite a bit of curiosity (and attitude) as it took a brief moment to assess the paparazzi amid the conversation of the other birds. Only a moment later it continued its downward path, hopping around the back side of the tree, chattering away as though to say, “you can’t catch me!” with another gleeful laugh.

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