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SLENDER-BILLED NUTHATCH

Old-time naturalists tell us that the slender-billed nuthatch was at one time fairly common in western Washington. If so, they have been gone many years. Though not common in the park, we do come across a pair now and then. Taylor and Shaw reported them at Owyhigh Lakes, Palisades, Dege Peak and Burroughs Mountain. We also have records from Longmire, Olallie Creek, Lake James and Sunset Park.

The slender-billed nuthatch can be identified by its large size and lack of the reddish breast found in the red-breasted nuthatch. It is ashy-blue above, underparts white, top of head and nape of neck glossy black. Its note is louder and more "nasal" than that of the red-breasted bird.

An old cavity or an old woodpeckers nest is used for a nesting site. Nesting material consists of moss, dried grass and feathers. Six to nine white eggs, spotted with red, are laid. They do not seem to associate with other birds in the park, but from observation here they go about in pairs or alone.

These birds are born acrobats, and while searching the trunks of trees are equally at ease climbing up or going down the tree head first. They swing under limbs, hopping along the lower side, while their long, slightly upturned bills poke about in search of bugs and larvae. Sometimes, when a bird finds a rotten, decayed stub to its liking, it will remain working on it for half a day at a time.

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RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

Museum Specimens - Longmire (2700); Eagle Peak (4000).

The red-breasted nuthatch is commonly found in all our forests from the Puget Sound to "The Mountain". We have a good sprinkling of them in the park. Any area containing dead snags is an attraction to this bird. In winter they attach themselves to groups of kinglets and chickadees to roam through that thick woods, feeding as they go. The short note of "yank-yank" is more subdued than that of their larger cousin and is not heard so often, but the passing of a person in the woods in spring is almost certain to start them going.

In spring, the birds select a suitable snag for the nesting site - usually a fir, rotten and burned. Sometimes, however, the dead, pithy branch of an old oak is chosen. The female goes to work, drilling through the bark, and excavates a cavity about five inches in depth. The chips are tossed out as she progresses. During this time the male feeds about, bringing her tid-bits while she works. She stops just long enough to stick out her head to receive the food and is back again at her drilling. When the cavity is finished, the nesting material is brought in, consisting chiefly of cedar fibre and short, dried grasses. This material is loosely pressed in shape to form a shallow nest, in which are laid four to six eggs - pure white with red spots.

At about the time the last egg is laid, the birds, especially the male, begin to collect and bring clear pitch from the fir trees. This they smear on the bark all around the entrance, leaving only a small space just above the hole. The pitch is clear and very sticky, so no enemies care to get mixed up in it. This can only be done for protection to the sitting female and for the young to come. The feeding of the female by the male begins again, only this time he alights at the top of the hole, acrobatically up-side-down, disappears for a moment, and then emerges with an empty bill. Both birds help in feeding the young, who remain in the nest until fully grown. When out, they follow their parents, begging for food with fluttering wings, so that any time during the summer one may come across a family party, tripping along.

I once located a nesting site by hearing the "tap-tap" of a female at work. The cavity was being made about fifteen feet up in a dead fir snag. I did not disturb the birds, but made a mental note to return when the eggs were laid. Returning in two weeks, I cautiously approached the stub. A patch of clear, fresh pitch smeared the entrance, so I tapped the stub lightly, but no bird flushed. While debating what to do, the male approached with more pitch which he stuck below the hole, and then stopped and looked in as if puzzled. He flew away, only to return with an insect. He clung to the hole but did not go in. After a few seconds a female appeared, took the food from the male and returned to a dead tree nearby. I was greatly puzzled by these actions, so decided to climb to the nest. Here I found tragedy - a dead female sitting on her full set of six eggs, her head pointing upward toward the entrance. The male came again with food while I was at the nest. Again the second female came and took the food, and this time he followed her to the dead tree where I could see she was busy excavating a nesting hole. No other male appeared. I took the first eggs home, as well as the dead bird. There were no marks or injuries on her to show the cause of death. Later I returned and the second female had a set of five eggs resting in a very hurriedly made nest in the dead tree. A small amount of pitch was at the entrance.

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BLACK-EARED NUTHATCH

Other common names: Pygmy Nuthatch.

One has almost to know the nuthatches by sight to be able to identify these little birds. In the park they keep to the high alpine trees and are generally active, flitting from one tree-top to another and keeping the watcher steadily on the move with little chance to use binoculars. They are the smallest of our nuthatches and can be separated from the red-breasted variety by the white throat and whitish underparts.

Their range should be restricted to the north and east sides, away from our dense timber. In the fall they are commonly seen about Yakima Park in the alpine trees below the Blockhouse and along the wooded canyon slopes as far as Sunrise Point. They undoubtedly breed sparingly in the park, but as yet there are no nesting records.

If one could only get near enough, the grayish-brown crown and black spot behind the eye are distinguishable. The throat is white, dulling to buffy underneath. The back is bluish-gray, the tail showing white markings.

Pygmy nuthatches in Washington are associated with pine trees and, like the red-breasted, excavate a cavity in a rotten tree-trunk, smearing the entrance with pitch. The cavity is lined with grasses and feathers, and five to seven white eggs with reddish spots, are laid. Only one brood a year is raised.

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CALIFORNIA CREEPER

Museum Specimens - Longmire (2700); Ramparts (5000).

This little brown bird is seldom seen or noticed by the public. They inhabit our deep woods, spending their lives in climbing the tree trunks in search of bugs and larvae. They begin at the base of a tree, climbing and circling the trunk until the higher branches are reached, then down to the base of the next tree to begin over again. Truly, life has its "ups and downs" for them! We find them scattered through the timber throughout the park. In winter they are more often seen with the kinglets and the chickadees. Two nests have been recorded - one at Nickel Creek and one at Mystic Lake.

Our creeper has a brown back indistinctly striped with whitish lines. The brown is darker on the head, changing to tawny on the lower back, under parts whitish-gray. The long, stiff tail feathers support the bird while clinging to tree trunks. The bill is long and slender and curves downward.

Its nest is an interesting structure, consisting of a twig base supporting a layer of rotten wood, bark and fibre, which in turn holds the lining of dried grasses, etc. All this is built behind a piece of loose bark on the side of a tree. Four to seven white eggs, spotted with red dish brown are laid about the first week in May.

We knew little about this bird's daily life until we hit upon a plan of building nesting sites for them. This was done by nailing a piece of curved bark, perhaps 18 inches long, to a tree trunk, nailing the top only and cutting two entrance holes on each side. Below, a smaller bit of bark for a base was pushed inside the lower end of the larger piece and nailed at the bottom. The birds took readily to this device, giving us opportunity to study and learn their nesting habits. The female does most of the nest-building and puts in a week of hard, steady labor carrying material. First, the dried, dead fir twigs are brought in and placed crosswise, followed by mouthfuls of bits of bark, wood fibre and pithy, rotten wood which is pressed down on the twigs. Then the nesting cup of grasses and hair is put in place.

As the young grow stronger, they leave their cradle and learn to cling to the side of the tree beneath their bark roof. It is quite a sight to peep in and see half a dozen tiny brown forms side by side, with bills pointing upward and not a movement out of them. Some day later they will take a hop or two upward through the entrance and find themselves out on their own, and seeing the world for the first time.

The only enemy they seem to have at nesting time is a blue land snail occasionally found in a nest sucking eggs.

Our creepers do not migrate, but stay in one locality the year round.

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Descriptions continued...