Pic of the Day

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla:  Guntersville Dam 

Recreational Area near New Hope, Alabama; USA

     In June of 2015 I made a day trip to Guntersville Dam Recreational area near New Hope, Alabama.  The recreational area is home to Brown-headed Nuthatches, a species that I had been trying to photograph for many years.  

     No sooner had I arrived and started my search, I heard the high-pitched piping notes of the nuthatches above me in the canopy of loblolly pines.  The birds, a small family group of half a dozens birds were searching for insects and spiders in the tree tops. 

     I knew that photographing these birds would be difficult as they spend much of their time in the canopy some sixty to seventy feet above the ground.  So, I put a couple of suet feeders on some trees that I wanted the bird to visit.  I chose trees that I could park close to, which allowed me to use my van as a blind.  I also chose trees that had an unobstructed view of distant foliage as a background.

     It took almost three weeks for the nuthatches to find the feeders, but when they did, they began to go to them on a regular basis.  Getting the birds where I wanted them was a bit time consuming, but it allowed me the opportunity to get this and many other shots.  I love it when I can simply go out and shoot, and come back with good images.  But sometimes you have to really work to get a shot, but usually its worth the trouble.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/250 second @ f/8