Normally I see the White-breasted Nuthatch creeping upside down or sideways on trees but when flying into a bird feeder, they can appear “normal”. They get their common name from their habit of jamming large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whacking them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside.

The male typically stays with its mate throughout the years since the female shares the duties of looking out for predators and in the 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.

White-breasted Nuthatch