This is bird note.

Spring means woodpeckers carving out nest cavities.

There are most familiar bird carpenters.

But they aren't the only excavators at work. Tiny nut hatches, which also have chisel-like

bills, are exceptional wood carvers. They will chip out nests in wood as tough as utility

pulls.

Some nut hatches coat their nest holes with sticky conifer resin.

This may discourage predators or competitors, like squirrels and houserens from taking over the nest site.

The nut hatches flit above the sap as they come and go.

The resin deposited outside red cockated woodpecker holes is thought to deter predators such as snakes.

Very soft tapping may signal a chickadee at work, Even without a chisel for a bill, chickadees can still peck

their way into less dense wood, like a knoth hole or a decayed section of a trunk. Both males and

females fairy out wood chips, creating a cylindrical

cavity about 8 inches deep. Finally, the female alone adds a nesting layer of moss, lined

with a softer material like fur to make a soft and warm bed for eggs and nestlings.

So listen this spring for bird carpenters and watch for tell-tale showers of sawdust.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann.

Bird Note gives you the sounds of birds every day,

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