![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/red-breasted-nuthatch-3384-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-breasted-nuthatch-3384-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nWhen I go back and review my older photos I often find something interesting that I didn’t notice the first time around.<\/p>\n
On October 31, 2019 I spent some time photographing nuthatches and chickadees foraging for Douglas Fir seeds in the mountains of the west desert. In these situations I typically take lots of photos and during the initial review of that many images I sometimes miss noticing interesting little details until months or even years later.<\/p>\n
That was the case with this short series that I ‘rediscovered’ last night.<\/p>\n
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When I initially reviewed these photos I may not have given them the attention they deserve because of the out of focus, light-colored twig behind the cone and the bird’s bill that I find a little distracting.<\/p>\n
Here the nuthatch is probing for seeds between the cone scales. This photo and the following two were taken sequentially in a burst with 1\/10th of a second between each shot.<\/p>\n
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This is the image I find most interesting that I somehow missed noticing the first time around. The nuthatch is attempting to catch the falling seed in midair. To be honest I don’t know if ‘he’ dropped the seed during the extraction process or he deliberately tossed it into the air to rearrange it in his bill before flying off with it or swallowing it. I suspect the former but it could have been either one. I was unaware this was happening when I was taking the photos.<\/p>\n
So, did he catch the seed?<\/p>\n
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Damn rights he did.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/red-breasted-nuthatch-3390-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-breasted-nuthatch-3390-ron-dudley\\"")
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And he seemed pretty proud of it too.<\/p>\n
At this point they sometimes fly off with the seed and other times they swallow it and continue foraging. This time he continued to forage.<\/p>\n
Obviously this series only documents a minor event in the life of a nuthatch but it’s still something that the viewer would never notice while watching the bird in the field. It just happens too fast. And the viewer would almost certainly not be close enough to the bird to notice it anyway.<\/p>\n
I like seeing stuff like that and I believe many of my blog followers do too.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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An update on yesterday’s events:<\/em><\/p>\n Yesterday’s snowstorm was an epic one, especially for here in the high desert of northern Utah. Most locations along the valley floor of the Wasatch Front got 12″ of heavy, wet snow and that’s exactly what I got at my house. The mountains got up to 2′. <\/em><\/p>\n My snow blower died a permanent death before I even got it started so I had to shovel my driveway, sidewalks, front steps and back patio (with some help from two thoughtful neighbors for which I’m very grateful). As a result I’m pretty sore this morning. I guess a new snow blower is on my near horizon.<\/em><\/p>\n But even though we’re supposed to have more snow today I’m without a vehicle so a new snow blower will have to wait. I’m having some (hopefully minor) transmission work done on my pickup so at the moment it’s at my Ford dealer. I should get it back late this afternoon, but who knows…<\/em><\/p>\n That’s life and I’m dealing with it but it still isn’t a lot of fun. The one bit of good news is that the fireplace technician repaired my fireplace insert yesterday so if we lose power from any of these storms I won’t freeze to death. The insert works with or without power.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I go back and review my older photos I often find something interesting that I didn’t notice the first time around.<\/p>\n