An Unfinished Story about Red-breasted Nuthatches

I enjoy watching creatures living their lives. I try to balance my curiousity with the risk of disturbing them. So when I found a nesting pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches, each day I would pause briefly well back from the nest tree to watch. Once a parent had visited the nest, I would leave. The problem is that can leave me uncertain how their life story turned out.

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Red-breasted Nuthatches Are Cavity Nesters

As I learned when they tried to nest in my crabapple tree, Red-breasted Nuthatches like to nest in a hole, or cavity, in a tree trunk or branch. They don’t build a flat grass and mud nest like, say, an American Robin.

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I found the nest  hole when a bird swooped past me and dove into it.

This past spring, a pair found a good spot in a dead ash trunk in my nearby park. I can see some of the sticky gum at the entrance  hole edge which the bird books mention.

Is This Nuthatch Feeding Young or Its Partner?

My first question was whether the Red-breasted Nuthatch I was watching was bringing food to its young or to its mate. According to the Cornell University website, males will feed their partners.

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After a few days, I saw both the male and the female bringing food to the nest hole. So eventually, at least, they were feeding chicks. The female has a grey, not black, cap and is less rusty on the front. These photos are of a male.

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How Did Their Story Finish?

One day when I waited for over ten minutes, neither parent appeared at the entrance hole. Their young had either fledged and moved into the branches. or had perished.

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I did not get to spend time in that area for over a week, so I didn’t have a chance to try to find the family. I won’t know how their story ended but as is my preference, I will hope it was happily!

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