An element of trust

So often, when I take photos deep within a forest or wooded area, my photos don't come out. On this particular day, 30 April 2014, the sun was actually shining right down on this little male Red-breasted Nuthatch who flew down to someone's hand (not MY hand). It's always such a thrill to have any wild bird on ones hand, whether it is a friendly little Black-capped Chickadee, a Boreal Chickadee, a Red- or a White-breasted Nuthatch, or even a little Downy Woodpecker - which feels amazing! Taken when I was on a morning walk with friends at South Glenmore Park. We walk down along the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir towards Weaselhead, then up through the forest and back along the top, paved pathway to the parking lot. Usually, pretty well all the birds we see are very, very distant, so I come home with very few photos. This time, I did manage to get this Nuthatch, a distant Loon, and a teeny Boreal Chorus Frog in full croak : )

"The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a small passerine, measuring 4.5 in (11 cm) in length, with a wingspan of 8.5 in (22 cm) and a weight of 9.9 g (0.35 oz). Its back and uppertail are bluish, and its underparts rust-colored. It has a black cap and eye line and a white supercilium (eyebrow). Sexes are similarly plumaged, though females and youngsters have duller heads and paler underparts.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch's call is high-pitched, nasal and weak. Transcribed as yenk or ink, they have been likened to a toy tin horn or a child's noisemaker. Its song is a slowly repeated series of clear, nasal, rising notes, transcribed as eeen eeen eeen." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-breasted_Nuthatch

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-breasted_nuthatch/id

Yesterday, we had around 10" of snow and it's still snowing this morning. The sky is white, so we know there is more to come.