Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Nuthatchery

There have been a lot of White-breasted Nuthatches in Green-Wood this winter.Since they’re so vocal, I’ve heard them throughout my forays there.And when more than one of these things starts calling — three in a single tree, say — they make an astonishing radio-interferrance mess of noise.Yes, the White-breasted is a bit red in the vent.But there should be no mistaking the belly versus vent. Red-breasted are in the distinct minority here, but one or two may be spotted on a walk. This one is going to take down a maple samara, no problem.

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