tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646265951298318549.post-39897603415973933882007-04-09T21:28:00.000-07:002007-04-10T16:56:58.951-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AV8EH8cbGLY/RhsWDrz2nJI/AAAAAAAAACE/BNU0HKIzXZ4/s1600-h/_L4D5790+pygmy+Nuthatch+Pair8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051655659581774994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AV8EH8cbGLY/RhsWDrz2nJI/AAAAAAAAACE/BNU0HKIzXZ4/s320/_L4D5790+pygmy+Nuthatch+Pair8.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_AV8EH8cbGLY/RhsVTLz2nII/AAAAAAAAAB8/ZxKGhvS89Bc/s1600-h/_L4D5790.JPG"></a><br />Early this morning I walked one of the loops at Natural Bridges State Beach looking for a reported Orchard Oriole. No luck. As I was about to leave I heard a few Pygmy Nuthatchs in a tree near the Ranger Shed. I stayed about an hour observing the cavity building activities of two or three members of the family.<br /><br />Interesting facts about the Pygmy Nuthatch from: All About Birds the web site of Cornell Lab of Ornithology<br /><br /><br />Pygmy Nuthatch is one of only two nuthatch species in<br />the world known to have helpers at the nest. Offspring<br />from previous years help their parents raise young.<br /><br />Unique among songbirds, the Pygmy Nuthatch uses three<br />energy-saving mechanisms on cold nights: it uses a<br />protected roost site (hole in a tree), huddles with<br />other nuthatches, and lets its body temperature drop<br />(hypothermia).<br /><br />No records exist of Pygmy Nuthatches roosting alone.<br />They always huddle in a group, sometimes with more than<br />100 in a single cavity.<br /><br />See more Pygmy Nuthatch photos <a href="http://selman.com/birds/species/pygmy nuthatch" target="_blank">here. </a></div>Larry Selmannoreply@blogger.com