An account by Wildlife Photographer Steve Bates
For nearly three years, I’ve been observing a nuthatch nesting site at the Radford Dip Reserve, and it’s been an intriguing journey into understanding their behavior. This season has been the closest I’ve come to capturing clear images of their activities. The nuthatch parents are fascinating to watch, especially in their feeding routine. After entering the nest to feed their chicks, they emerge with any leftover food waste and cleverly dispose of it on the surrounding tree bark. This behavior, in turn, attracts various insects, which the parents exploit as an additional food source, swiftly catching these opportunistic insects as prey.
It’s a remarkable example of their efficiency and adaptability in maintaining the nest. To track their activity levels, I’ve been counting their visits in and out of the nest site and recently recorded an impressive six trips in just eight minutes. These sorts of details make the hours of patient waiting worthwhile, and I’m hopeful that I’ll soon capture some high-quality images that showcase these intricate habits in action. Every observation reveals more about their resourcefulness and the intricate balance of the ecosystem they inhabit.”
Pictures & Content © Steve Bates