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White-breasted Nuthatch


White-breasted Nuthatch
Photo Information
Copyright: Richard Vincent (earthtraveler) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 427 W: 123 N: 947] (3483)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-08-27
Categories: Birds
Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ50
Exposure: f/3.7, 1/160 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-09-04 9:16
Viewed: 3027
Points: 17
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
White-breasted Nuthatch

A common bird of deciduous forests and wooded suburbs, the White-breasted Nuthatch can be seen hopping headfirst down the trunks of trees in search of insect food. It frequents bird feeders and takes sunflower seeds off to the side of a tree, where it wedges them into a crevice and hammers them open.

Description
•Large nuthatch; creeps headfirst down tree trunks.
•Dark gray or black cap.
•Bright white face and underparts.
•Blue-gray upper parts.
•Long bill either straight or slightly upturned.
•Size: 13-14 cm (5-6 in)
•Wingspan: 20-27 cm (8-11 in)
•Weight: 18-30 g (0.64-1.06 ounces)

Sex Differences
Sexes similar; male with black cap, female with grayer cap.

Sound
Song a series of soft, slightly nasal "what, what, what" notes. Call a soft "yank.

Conservation Status
Common and widespread. Populations increasing over most of range.

Other Names
Sittelle à poitrine blanch (French)
Saltapalo blanco (Spanish)

Cool Facts
•Nuthatches gather nuts and seeds, jam them into tree bark, and hammer or "hatch" the food open with their bills.
•The White-breasted Nuthatch is normally territorial throughout the year, with pairs staying together. The male is more vigilant when he forages alone than when he is with the female. The female, however, is in danger of having the more dominant male displace her from foraging sites, and she is more vigilant when he is around than when she is alone.
•In winter, the White-breasted Nuthatch joins foraging flocks led by chickadees or titmice. One explanation for these flocks is that the birds gain protection from predators by the vigilance of the other birds. In support of this idea, one study found that if titmice were removed from a flock, nuthatches were more wary and reluctant to come to exposed bird feeders.

Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
All About Birds --website

Aperture Priority
ISO 200
F-Stop 3.7
Exp. 1/60th sec.

Thanks for taking a look and to you who choose to share your thoughts....I appreciate it.
Richard
Argus, JoseMiguel, gracious, eqshannon, snowfalken has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To mbasil: Manual focus on eyeearthtraveler 1 09-04 09:44
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Critiques [Translate]

Nice capture, Richard. Good use of f/3.7 to limit the DoF. The light is nice, too. My only nit is it looks like your subject is more of the branch than the bird. Part of this is the prominence in the shot, part is that yor camera has pulled focus on the branch instead of the bird. Next time you might try a manual focus to focus on the eye [it's easy for me to say, but I've found it's very difficult or almost impossible to do while catching birds in action. That's to say I can't do it.)
Mike

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2007-09-04 9:26]

Hello Richard,
This is a superb capture of a White-breasted Nuthatch. The technical qualities are first class, as are the composition and the blurred natural BG. Finr colors too.
Well done and TFS!
Ivan

Hi Richard,
This is a great POV!
I like so much the original view of this bird, plenty of sharp and clear details all over.
The textures seen on the trunk are just amazing, and the nicely blurred background works great for this composition.
Well done and thanks for share it.
My best regards,
JM

Hello Richard
This is a really nice picture..the colours are great and the sharpenning is spot on!! great work.
Paul

Richard;
Another in a line of great aviary shots. I love the natural perch and the bird is drawn out of the background with skill...and it has some sustenance in it's mouth as well. Too cute.
Bob

I think that Mike is correct that the focus was on the branch rather than the bird, but it is still a nice shot. I also agree with Mike that I can't do it either or it I do its accidental.

TFS
Evelynn : )

Hello Richard,
Ah! this is a good one!
perfect pov with sharpness, vivid colour and details!
good DOF with exposure and focus
well composed and well seen
cheers
Tony

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 988 W: 4 N: 3277] (14761)
  • [2007-09-05 5:03]

Richard, Nice shot and lovely posture. I like the composition and colors. The bird looks class. Ganesh

Hello Richard,

This is a very beautiful bird that you captured here! The composition is very clean and simple making it very effective. The impact is even stronger because of the almost plain background. I appreciate the lack of distracting objects. I would have cropped from the top of the picture to allow the subject come closer to the upper edge and thus avoid the middle. The profile silhouette is easily readable against the background which is a strong element! I also like the textures in the branch. The colors are well saturated and look natural! Well done! Thank you!

With Friendly Regards,
Eddie

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