Nuthatch relationship

Don't have a photo, but a couple of White-breasted Nuthatches have been hanging around my feeders lately. W-b Nuthatches aren't unusual in my yard at all, but I've never had two hanging out so closely together, and I'm trying to figure out whether these are parent/offspring, or a pair.

I saw one feeding the other, which I've never seen Nuthatches do, and I've heard them make "pipping" sounds I've never heard Nuthatches make. They were not five feet from me, and the pipping was very quiet. I almost couldn't hear it, but it was definitely coming from them. Any ideas?

Thanx!

Hi BirdGeek -
Don't you just love White-breasted Nuthatches? We have them all year around (and occasionally Red-breasted, also). They're so tame.

WBN are monogamous, spending all year together. They will feed each other during mating season & sometimes also make a very quiet "ping" sound to each other.

It's something I see frequently with Cardinals (the male feeds his mate), but not so often with Nuthatches. I guess you just have to be looking at the right time.

How lucky of you to see that!!

The male will also feed his mate when she's on the nest and of course they also feed their babies.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to instantly take pictures of everything we see?

Hi my birding friends. I was very fortunate to have a pair that have chosen one of our wooden bird houses to nest this early spring. It's truly a joy to watch the interaction. The soft noises they make that you called "ping" is music to my ear. I wished I could see the little babies, but I didn't want to frighten them. They fledged successfully for soon after I saw a group of nuthatches to the far corner of the garden, rather than just the pair that I often saw over the winter.

Yes, they are one of my favorites, just adorable!!! And the sounds they were making were just as cute! I have them year round too, and have had Red-breasteds at my feeders a few years back as well. As I said, never heard that out of a Nuthatch in my life! I guess they must be a pair then?

Hubby tells that in the future we'll be able to get implants in our brains that will allow us to "snap a picture" of everything we see and download it to a website or storage device. I think he reads too much science fiction. At least I *hope* it's fiction!

Thanx again!

Oh dear, I think I just asked my question one day too soon...now there are *five* of them on my deck, three fluttering their wings in that I'm-hungry-feed-me way, and two are obliging them, while making those adorable noises! Seems I've got a whole family here!!! Awesome!!!

I'm going to have to get this on video!!!

Woo hoo!!!

Wow...Wow...and Wow!!!
How wonderful is that? I said you were lucky, but that's super-lucky.

Enjoy the new family!

If I can get vid of this, can I post it here, or does it go somewhere else?

Thanx!!!

BG, in the past I've to load my video onto utube then copy the link and post it here to DG.

Lily_love,
It's wonderful that they nested in one of your birdhouses. Have the Nuthatches done that before or was this the first time?

It's exciting that they all seem to have made it.

We have so many large, tall trees in & around our house that I don't often find the nests of the many birds whose babies I eventually see.

It was my first. n.a.n. I was thrilled.