THIS WEEK’S THEME: LIFE ON THE TRUNK
Five encounters from a morning spent photograpFive birds from five different families that have each evolved a remarkably similar way of searching tree trunks for food.hing the birds visiting my sister’s backyard feeding station in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas.
Scientific names
Sitta carolinensis
Taxonomic groups
Sittidae — Nuthatches
Click photograph to view full size
A photograph is worth a thousand words, but the story makes it worth a few more.
BACKSTORY
It was just another bird walk with my birding buddy, Jim Ross, along the Nature Trail at Lodi Lake. We were hoping some new species might make its presence known when Jim spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch disappear into a tree cavity. I immediately had my camera up, waiting for it to stick its head out again.
Well, it did more than that. The nuthatch popped out, hopped up above the nest cavity, and simply looked around as though it were waiting for something. Sure enough, a few moments later its mate arrived and flew straight into the cavity with a mouthful of food.
IMAGE DETAILS
LOCATION INFORMATION: Lodi Lake Nature Trail, San Joaquin County, California · March 9, 2026
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION: Canon EOS R5 · Canon RF 100–500mm + RF 1.4x Extender
SETTINGS INFORMATION: 700mm · ƒ/10 · 1/1000 sec · ISO 20000 (yes, that is correct)