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White Breasted Nuthatch


White Breasted Nuthatch
Photo Information
Copyright: Mario Belanger (EOSF1) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1393 W: 119 N: 5267] (23955)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-11-18
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 100-400 F4-5.6 L IS USM, ISO 400, B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1 x
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/160 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-11-19 8:29
Viewed: 7770
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 84
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note [French]
As the weather is getting colder, the birds are pretty much active in the garden. Here's a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis 13-15 cm) on a twig. This one is the male as it has the top of its head darker than the female.

From: www.birds.cornell.edu

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.
earthtraveler, eqshannon, Luis52, fartash, gerbilratz, Pentaxfriend, Juyona, Ena, NinaM, manyee, dejo, fiyo, horia, undoredo, tiklod, marhowie, vanderschelden, pierrefonds, Photoslave has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To smurali: Thanks Murali !EOSF1 1 11-22 04:13
To manyee: Thanks !EOSF1 1 11-21 05:07
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Mario,
fine upclose shot of this Nuthatch.
Great details, even the whites, which give me problems on these birds.
Interesting gold/tan BG.
TFS
Richard

Very nice and close with sharp details. It is an active cold weather bird. I remember seeing them frequenting my dads feeder in colder months. Fine image as I would expect.
Bob

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2007-11-19 8:47]

Hello Mario,
Excellent details and backlight in this photo.
Great colours and composition. Very good POV and DOF.
Regards,
Peter

salut eos
le focus est parfait et le fond d'une couleur incroyable
bravo
très belle photo
aleks ;-)

Bonjour Mario,

Belle présentation de cette sittelle. La netteté est parfaite.
Bonne journée,

Mariki

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 8 N: 4240] (15809)
  • [2007-11-19 9:01]

Hola Mario. Admirable foto. Exelente la pose y gran calidad en la postal. Bellos colores y hermoso fondo.
Luis52.

bonjour mario
superbe photo,comme toujours!!!
rien a dire de plus.
laurent

  • Great 
  • jesst Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 368 W: 0 N: 172] (2441)
  • [2007-11-19 9:11]

Vey good shot, Mario!
Wonderful sharp and detail and nice background

Hello Mario
Very nice shot of this beautiful Nuthatch,
Perfect details,exposure and POV,
Superb shot my friend.Hope you recieve my mail .

Regards
fartashphoto.com

perfect little bird...great feather details around bill. good "pose" as well, good Dof. Excellent info as well.

Sharpness can't be better, Mario, I always wonder how you do this - fantastic.
I like these white-breasted nuthatches, never saw one in Germany, we have them only with the orange breast. Thanks and greetings
Sabine - wishnugaruda

A good side portrait. Nice to see.

Hello Mario.
Very beautiful. Wonderful sharpness and detail. Great colour and DOF. Very lovely capture.
Regards, Steve.

Hi Mario,

PERFECT capture
Amazing sharp details
Superb POV, pose, colors and BG

TFS Thijs

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2883 W: 30 N: 9683] (36145)
  • [2007-11-19 11:15]

Hi Working late again so just marking for now. .TFS.
Nick..

Hello Mario
This is a very impressive picture..perfect sharp details in what is a reference book shot..the bg really higlights the subject perfectly.
Tfs Paul

  • Great 
  • Norte Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 32 W: 0 N: 45] (184)
  • [2007-11-19 11:30]

Hi!
I love to see that cold-lighted bird on a delicate warm background! Very good composition too!
TFS
Jon :)

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1739 W: 224 N: 6872] (24909)
  • [2007-11-19 11:36]

Wow! Super sharp image Mario!
The level of detail is awesome!
Great POV, pose and composition.
I love the DOF and BG aswell.
You have proved yourself as one of the best bird photographers on TrekNature!
Very well done,
Joe

  • Great 
  • Dave Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 503 W: 43 N: 657] (2178)
  • [2007-11-19 11:42]

Very nice Mario!
Excellent composition!

  • Great 
  • Pier Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 25 W: 0 N: 37] (808)
  • [2007-11-19 11:49]

Incantevole, sublime,perfetta immagine.io non ho altri aggettivi.
Un saluto Piero

bonjour Mario
très belle maîtrise de la lumière !
et j'adore ce BG coloré
amicalement
jo

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 2232 W: 10 N: 2971] (16891)
  • [2007-11-19 12:15]

Hola Mario,
Genial captura amigo,
excelente compo y bg,
detalles nitidos y pov...
saludos

Impeccable en tout point, avec une mention spéciale pour ce magnifique background,
bravo Mario,
amicalement,
Pat

  • Great 
  • darwin Gold Star Critiquer [C: 259 W: 0 N: 403] (1401)
  • [2007-11-19 14:51]

Hi Mario
Excellent presentation
Nice side on pose matches the curve of the branch
Superb sharpness and detail tfs jon

  •      
  • Ena Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 324 W: 61 N: 594] (2454)
  • [2007-11-19 14:51]

Hello Mario,
Stunning shot!
Excellent sharpness and colors!
Regards
Ena

*I'll be back

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer [C: 773 W: 3 N: 1157] (4077)
  • [2007-11-19 16:44]

Bonsoir Mario, très belle photo et le fond orangé est superbe. C'est parfait et surtout agréable pour l'oeil. Merci d'autant plus qu'il n'est vraiment pas facile de photographier les oiseaux... je commence à m'en rendre compte. Bonne soirée!

Francine

perfect image....very nice exposure....very nice background rendering....

hi mario,
another great shot, liked the composition, the pov, the dof very much, the oof bg looks beautiful nice details of the plumage and the bark,
well done,
tfs & regards
pankaj

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3089 W: 230 N: 6774] (23770)
  • [2007-11-19 23:37]
  • [+]

Hi Mario,
Great shot of this nuthatch in its typical pose.
But what I like the most is the BG.
How do you make a BG like that?
It really shows off the subject beautifully.
TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • dejo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 344 W: 51 N: 520] (2242)
  • [2007-11-20 1:21]

Beautiful capture Mario, as always!
I like the pose and the composition very much
Fantastic sharpness and beautiful background
Regards, Dejan

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1053 W: 5 N: 3475] (15161)
  • [2007-11-20 1:28]

Excellent capture Mario,
fine lighting, sharp and detailed image, very nice colours.TFS

Mario tu m'énerves! ;o)

Comme le dit Laurent que veux-tu que l'on te dise à part qu'on se régale de tes clichés ( et que je vais finir par faire un trou dans mon porte-monnaie moi, ton 40D commence à me titiller...)

Que du bonheur!

Servane

Mario, Excellent picture. Fantastic background. Were there chicks in the hole in the tree?
- Murali Santhanam

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2158 W: 224 N: 4749] (16656)
  • [2007-11-20 7:55]

Hi Mario

This is another outstanding capture from you, my friend!
I'm particularly amazed by the quality of the exposure here - i find it absolutely havenly to have such a nice light on your subject with that right and lovely BG in the back. Truly magnificent!
The details are super sharp and the use of flash in excellent!
Very beautiful colors and tones everywhere, too.
Good note, too - nice to know the difference between the two sexes.
All-in-all: brillaint work!

Bravo and TFS
Horia

Bonjour Mario,
Belle prise de vue de cette sittelle à poitrine blanche et tête noire, beaucoup de détails et jolie composition, beau fond d'image et de belles couleurs naturelles.. Excellent cliché..Bravo..
Michel

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1772 W: 36 N: 5597] (18598)
  • [2007-11-20 19:49]

Hi Mario,
Just marking this wonderful post from you and will come back later with a proper critique. Sorry, on the sick list.
Regards.
Sumon

Salut Mario,
Cette petite sitelle semble tres timide avec son profil abaissé! Très belle pose dynamique et des détails d'une netteté hors pair! Le BG est adorable! Belles couleurs...
Bravo et merci pour tes commentaires!

Claude

Nice & sharp Mario, great use of flash to fill.
I've been shooting my birds without flash lately, just to see what I can do without it..
Well composed with an excellent POV, detail, BG, and colors :)
Howard

Magnifique POV avec le bec encore avec des miettes, beaux détails.
Bravo
Marie

Hello Mario,
Very wonderful portrait shot of this Nuthatch you present here.
Outstanding details and perfect focusing here, with very nice composition and lovely BG.
Also, you managed very nice flash work here.
Well presented with informative note as usual.
TFS and Best regards,
Kevin

Good work again, Mario.
Well composed. Excellent details. Wonderful garden visitors...
TFS
Annick

Bonsoir Mario,

Une belle image de cette Sittelle à poitrine blanche, la photo a une bonne composition, netteté et de jolies couleurs. Bonne soirée.

Pierre

Hi Mario,

it's a great pleasure to adimre your shots as they became day by day more perfect. Here quality is really stunning, good pose of the bird.

Very well done!

Gio

Salut Mario, une fois de plus c'est une très belle photo
Mike

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