On our daily lockdown walk around our local golf course, we have already seen a wide variety of wildlife including roe deer and many bird species. However, one thing I am rapidly realising is that it would be great if I could recognise more bird species by their call, not just on sight. So, my plan during this lockdown period is to focus on learning more bird calls.
One that I did learn the other evening, and won’t quickly forget, was the nuthatch…and, obviously, this was the inspiration for posting today’s image. Now, again obviously, I have seen and photographed nuthatches before but I have never witnessed an individual calling and what a sound it is! On Tweet of the Day Bill Oddie describes the call of the nuthatch as “loud wolf whistles in the local park” and boy is he right; these birds are loud! As well as the loud whistling, we are also treated to some wonderful twittering. I realised that I’d heard nuthatches before but couldn’t put the call to the face. However, with one bouncing around on a branch directly above our head and making the most brilliant racket, I now have it locked into my memory.
If you are wanting to learn bird calls, as well as listening to Tweet of the Day, I would recommend following Lucy Lapwing on Instagram. Lucy is currently sharing a Birdsong of the Day and has the most fantastic way of describing the song that helps you make the long-lasting association with the bird. Go give her a follow!
This image of a nuthatch was taken on our trip to the woodland hide at Argaty Red Kites at the beginning of March. It was a cloudy, wet day (you can see the water droplets on this bird’s feathers) and quite dark in the cover of the trees, so it was necessary to set ISO to a higher level than I would normally use for wildlife photography. However, I think I have done a reasonable job of cleaning up my images from the session in Lightroom. Also, this nuthatch stayed incredibly still in the signature pose for more than a few moments, which definitely helped with getting sharp shots! This downward pointing position is due to the fact that nuthatches are the only UK bird that can climb headfirst down tree trunks, holding on with their powerful toes.