My head was spinning a little as I tried to track a small bird that was moving up and down and around and around a tree last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. At first I thought it might be a woodpecker, but when I finally got a good look at it, I realized that it was a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).
In the past, most nuthatches that I have seen were moving downwards on a tree trunk, but this one was moving upwards most of the time that I was observing it. I was happy to be able to capture some shots of the nuthatch in action. Eventually I even managed to capture the “traditional” nuthatch pose in the final photo in which the nuthatch is perched upside-down with its head craned upward and backward.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 