Nuthatchery

Bird chicks demand obeisance. Nuthatch chicks are no different—their parents must dance to their demands.

I was fortunate to to be able to revisit the nuthatches at the Sanderson home (see, Tasty spider, m’dear?). The nuthatch couple now has chicks, and those chicks are being attended to by their diligent parents.

Two nuthatch chicks vie for food from a parent.

Now for a tasty beetle.

This picture makes it clear that there are three chicks in the nest. I cannot be sure of the insect being offered, although it looks somewhat like an earwig.

Nuthatch parents not only bring food for their chicks, they also clean out the detritus. Over and over, a chick would stick its butt out the opening and extrude some guano. The parent picks it up in its bill and carries it away.

And for no better reason than that it flew by, here is a heron.