Irruptive Migrant: Red-breasted Nuthatch

I heard the distinctive nasal call of a Red-breasted Nuthatch this week in York County.  After checking for other birders’ observations on the eBird website, I saw that many people across the Susquehanna Valley have been reporting that species.  Those sightings are an indication that Red-breasted Nuthatches will probably be visiting our bird feeders this winter.  In some years, that’s not the case.

Red-breasted Nuthatches are irruptive migrants, meaning that they don’t migrate the same distance or to the same areas each year.  When enough food is available farther north, they stay there through the winter.  The local effect of that migration pattern is that Red-breasted Nuthatches are fairly common some winters, and almost entirely absent in other years.  I’ve kept close track of the birds in my yard since 2012, and they’ve visited my feeders in five of the last thirteen winters, most recently the winter of 2022-23.  It looks like we might be due for another visit from these neat little birds.

Like the more common White-breasted Nuthatch (which lives in the Susquehanna Valley all year), Red-breasted Nuthatches spend a lot of time walking head-first down the trunks of trees.  The Red-breasted is smaller, with a call that is more nasal and higher-pitched.  They particularly like peanuts and Bark Butter, as well as sunflower seeds, suet, Bark Butter Bits, and mealworms.  Keep your bird feeders stocked and your binoculars ready!