Juvenile nuthatch eyeing up the suet feeder

I came down after a slow start to a weekend morning and went to the dining room where Woodpeckers was busy at the table. I looked up and out behind her through the patio doors, and noticed a few small birds, mostly young tits at the suet feeder. But as I watched them I saw that one bird was hesitant about flying onto the feeder. I  realised it was a nuthatch, but not an adult whose close proximity would normally force the other birds to scatter.

I have seen our pair of nuthatches regularly in recent weeks but only in glimpses. I hoped they might be on their nest raising a brood of young. Here was the evidence. This was a very young juvenile which hadn't developed its typically buff coloured chest feathers, and which had no idea how to climb onto the wire cage, in a nuthatch’s normal upside down position. It seemed confused by the tits which were approaching tthe suet pellets in a normal fashion, and one in particular right in front of it here which was just about to fly away.

I didn’t want to move in case i disturbed it, as I’d never seen such a young nuthatch before. My camera was upstairs, but my phone was in my pocket. So I had to zoom into the scene through the double-glazed doors which has produced a rather fuzzy image, but one which is very much better than nothing.

It hopped about on the hanging basket and then up and down the trellis, but I didn’t see it actually get any suet pellets into its mouth. Hopefully its parent will be able to teach it how.