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.”

Hatched and Hunched

Somebody has wedged these seeds into the defiles of a shagbark hickory and whacked into them.
I suspect the White-breasted Nuthatch, a species in ample evidence here this winter. They’re seen and heard on every walk.
Anyone care to venture the identity of these seeds? They aren’t hickory. Both the White-breasted and Red-breasted will often harvest a seed from, say, a conifer, and then take it strong limbs to a broadleaf tree to chisel into it. This dollar coin is just over an 1″ in diameter.
Another bird seen and heard a lot this winter is the Tufted Titmouse.
This one is going full Blue Jay on an acorn.
Actually, Blue Jays will swallow smaller acorns whole. Whereas this tufted crowd just wants to break in.

One response to “Hatched and Hunched”

  1. The very common titmice will hammer on peanuts in my Ozark forest.

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