Surprise visitor.

Despite breeding about 200m as the Nuthatch  (Sitta europaea) flies we very rarely get them in the garden or on the feeders.  Today fairly early we spotted one on the nuts, in the classic head down pose.  Off it went.  Fortunately they are creatures of habit and when we get one they return a number of times a day.

When I was a lad (I am starting to sound like a village ancient, shut up you, you know who you are) Nuthatches were not breeding in the county.  By the time of the first BTO Atlas there were few records in the county (early 70s).  By the time the BTO did the Breeding bird Atlas (Late 80s) they covered the southern half of the county.  By the  time Cumbria Bird Club produced their atlas (late 90s) they were spear across the county but not in Greystoke.  By my involvement with the Bird Atlas 2007-11 they were in all the local tetrads.

This one seems from what I could see in the few short visits to be a female.  Many birds seem to use the feeders to top up their personal energy levels while out hunting for protein rich insects for the growing chicks, so perhaps that is why she was visiting.