Nuthatch

Dweep-dweeper, buff mask-wearer

The nuthatch is another woodland bird that has adapted well to gardens, and many of us will have seen one hanging expertly from a peanut feeder.

In the spring they tend to be higher up in the trees, and less easy to see among the leaves. This is when knowing their calls makes them much easier to find.

The sound we encounter most often is the ‘dweep dweep’ sound. This is one of their contact calls, and is made through the year. It’s loud and can be given rather insistently*. 

*to the point that you might want to hatch its nut

In the spring they also make a whinnying noise which is what passes for their song. It’s something you may well hear as you walk through a woodland in April. Like woodpeckers, nuthatches like to make this territorial sound from a lofty perch.

If you’re lucky enough to get a good look, there’s not much to confuse a nuthatch with. They are buff orange underneath, a slaty grey-blue on top, and sport an excellent Zorro-style mask across the eye. 

They are the only bird you are likely to see moving confidently face-first down a tree trunk, which they often do as they feed.

Other treehuggers such as woodpeckers and treecreepers almost always head up. 

Nuthatches are found in many wooded areas across England and Wales, but they do need mature trees and are not likely to be seen in very open landscapes.

They don’t like to fly any great distance, and certainly not over water, which helps explain why they are completely absent from the island of Ireland. They are also absent from most of Scotland, although they are starting to spread from the south.

Perhaps as the highland trees begin to return, so will they.

So for nuthatch: listen for the ‘dweep dweep’ call and look out for a bird heading face-first downhill.

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We had been due to listen to the mistle thrush this week. But it’s just too sunny for a mistle thrush. They like to sing in miserable weather. Maybe next week (but hopefully not).

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• Real-world guided bird walks - join me for a half-day in Stanmer Park (Brighton) in April or May, featuring birdsong, beautiful woodland and excellent cake.

• The first cohort of this spring’s Birdsong Essentials course is underway, and the second is now booking, for a late April start. Learn a lot of birds in good company over 10 weeks.