The nuthatches are back

The birds seem to have ignored the peanut feeder during the recent warm weather, but the nuthatches have made a welcome return. There was an article in the paper last week that described them as "Autumn's Highwaymen" - largely due to the Lone Ranger type "mask" that they have across their eyes. They take the best nuts and profligately chuck the rest onto the ground where the robins and sparrows hoover them up. It is always interesting to see them - with their unusual confederate blue grey plumage with their orange chests and the way that they can flit both up and down the feeder unlike any other birds we see. They are obviously first in the pecking order - as soon as they appear the other birds fly for the safety of the tree. The only ones that sometimes stand their ground are the green finches. They too are bigger than most birds that come to the feeder.