Nuthatch Excavation

The small bird in the above photo, with the gray back and wings, white underparts and brown head and nape, is a brown-headed nuthatch. The nuthatch is pausing between bouts of vigorous pounding away (below) at the trunk of a black willow in our Wetlands. Another nuthatch was working these willows at the same time last year. Last year’s pounding resulted in a cavity where a pair nested some twenty feet from the trees this bird now works. It couldRead more

Nest Box Clean-up and Mix-up

If you’ve ever been in Explore the Wild and looked out over our Wetlands here at the Museum you may have noticed that there are two wood duck nest boxes planted there. One is on the far side of the Wetlands, the other on a small island about halfway across the water.     The nest boxes are there in an attempt to convince a pair or two of the hooded mergansers that winter here at the Museum into stayingRead more