I love my Red Breasted Nuthatches.

[Rob'in'To]

I don't know what others think of the Red Breasted Nuthatches...  neat little birds, boring sighting, or

I enjoy the pair that have returned for the winter (same pair?).  This is the third year now seeing a pair out back arriving in November and sticking around until March.  Huge difference in colors from a sunny afternoon to the stormy stuff today.

[JW Mills]

Nice close-ups Rob!

[Rob'in'To]

Thanks John.

One of them is quite fearless.  That, or he is pretty hungry and determined to get his suet in the storm today, and not caring that I was right there.  I realized I had the camera set on macro from some earlier snow/plant shots but these still turned out decent.

[RKD]

Great Photos!!!
I love the little RB Nuthatches too and they are quite fearless, they dont really care to stop feeding when I'm trying to fill the feeders.
How do you like the whole peanut feeder? Who feeds on it predominantly or do the squirrels clean it out? I've thought of getting one but have hesitated

[ravynne40]

Cute little birds!! I find your feeder interesting it reminds me of a slinky (you remember those don't ya?)
nice shots I like the 2nd one, with the nuthatch in the centre of the slinky feeder

[Howieh]

Speaking of red breasted nuthatches, I usually see one at a time but this year the whole family showed up! When I refill my feeder (not shown here) I sprinkle a few seeds on the fence outside my computer room window and if the squirrels don't get them first the chickadees, downies and nuthatches often provide good photo (or video) ops. This video was shot with an SX210, through the window; hope you enjoy it.

  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13400530/End%20 ... %20046.MOV

[Rob'in'To]

Oh I remember the Slinky.  I used to get mad at mine because it never went down the stairs like on the commercial.

I love the "slinky-ring" feeder.  If it was accessible to Squirrels, they would be all over it.  I have it up on a 15 ft pole with a baffler-umbrella so they just hang around below and wait for some to fall.  Right now it's Blue Jays pulling them out whole.  The Downys, Hairies and Nuthatches just crack the shells right there and take bits out.  In warmer months Red-wings and Grackles can help empty it daily.  Oh, Starlings on occasion, but they've not been around much since a Sharp Shin has moved into the area.

I tried to watch the video but got some update thing on my computer to view it.  So, gonna have to do that when I get home from work.  They sure are right by your window though.

[RKD]

howieh
Great video!! poor little thing thought it was getting food then she flies off.

[Howieh]

howieh
Great video!! poor little thing thought it was getting food then she flies off.

Thanks, most of the newer P&S cameras take pretty good video and it really comes in handy in low light or even windy conditions. Yesterday the male cardinal was at the feeder when a bunch of sparrows showed up. Well, 'Big Red' likes to eat alone so when the sparrows started coming in from all directions I grabbed the camera and started 'filming'. Hilarious to watch him running around the (gazebo) feeder chasing them away! At least the chickadees are smart enough to grab and run.

The SX210 takes pretty good video (720p) and fits in a pocket so I keep it with me all the time. A small disadvantage is that the files are in MOV format so they can be quite large but they can be converted to WMV.

[ravynne40]

Love the video, poor baby bird, guess he got a surprise when momma flew off eh?
that cam sure takes nice video..good catch. I haven't tried video with the D90 yet I guess I should try it sometime
thanks for sharing

[Howieh]

Love the video, poor baby bird, guess he got a surprise when momma flew off eh?
that cam sure takes nice video..good catch. I haven't tried video with the D90 yet I guess I should try it sometime
thanks for sharing

By all means try the video (which, btw, should be much better than my SX210) because you never know when it might come in handy, either because conditions are unfavorable for shooting stills or stills don't do justice to the existing situation. Just keep in mind that even though you can grab frames from videos you won't have the resolution needed to make large prints. When I encounter something interesting I always try to get stills before taking videos.

[ravynne40]

Thanks for the advice I will keep that in mind. I haven't start to print large prints yet,the biggest I have done are 8.5x11", so far so good I am compiling some photos for a small booklet for the coffee table