Thursday 20 March 2025 9.00 - 10.00 a.m.

Wandering in Badgers Wood - with the Nuthatches

Mid March and it feels wonderful to be experiencing both dry and warm weather.  In fact March has been unusually dry this year and some of the ponds in the woods are looking a bit low.  However we are enjoying this spell of warmth after a tough winter.  With the dial saying 10 centigrade and no wind I headed up to the woods to enjoy the late spring.  I was lucky to have with me today a good photographer who is keen to see the woods and to spot one of our shy but rather vocal Nuthatches.

We entered Badgers Wood at the corner of Church Town and Cheston Combe, just by the pretty stone wall rebuilt and maintained by the volunteers.  The wild garlic is rampant here with its distinctive oniony smell.  We turn immediately left to follow the path that runs up hill parallel with Cheston Combe and quickly duck beneath a thick low branch.  Bird song and chatter is all around us.  Blue Tits are chuntering to each other, a Dunnock to my right is belting out its pretty flute-like song and to my left a Robin is happy to join in the singing.  A Great Spotted Woodpecker chips in the distance and a Wren sings loud and proud in the undergrowth.  As we amble up the path in front of us we detect the gentle sound of a Nuthatch in the distance.  Rather than head off to find it we decide to stay on the path for a bit longer.   Nuthatches are very mobile, often high up in the canopy, and if we go looking for one they will doubtless unwittingly outfox us by moving off before we can reach them.

The path is full of wild garlic, ferns and moss. Almost like a temperate rainforest the lower woods are darker, damper and more inclined to encourage moss and lichens.  Last year I spotted a living tree with fern growth and along this path we discover yet another tree full of plant life which merits a photo.  These may look as though they are rotting and dying but they are a haven for small insects, plants, fungi and other species. 

As our path takes us further up the woods towards the light, we reach a 3-way junction which offers a bench, a path up to the limestone pavement or a chance to head back down.  Knowing how the Nuthatches prefer the darker woods, we head down.  Every now and again we hear a Nuthatch call or a song.  We are also aware of a Blackbird alarm call, probably disturbed by our passing, a chak chak of a Magpie, Jackdaws passing high above the canopy and the odd Wood Pigeon flapping out of the woods. 

As the Nuthatch songs and calls persist, we begin to suspect there are at least 2, as one of the songs is very traditional Nuthatch – strong, melodious about 6 notes up and down – whereas the other is what I call Nuthatch on heat. More strident, more repetitive and perhaps a few less notes but still in the same key. 

As we return almost to the bottom of Badgers Wood we turn left onto the path that runs parallel with Church Town and we are thrilled to see a Nuthatch swoop past us busily - barely distracted by our presence.  Knowing how timid they usually are we stop in our tracks and watch and wait.  We are not disappointed.  The Nuthatch lands on an adjacent branch, looks around and then begins to sing.  Loud and clear and not afraid to be seen or heard.  

Jon approaches carefully and is rewarded with a set of great photos of the Nuthatch singing.  Nuthatches are a really pretty bird.  Often hard to spot it is a joy when you get a good view. 

They are blue-grey on top and white below – with a ruddy chestnut colour on the sides and under the tail.  The distinctive black eye stripe and long bill give it a distinguished look despite the short legs.

Within minutes another Nuthatch appears and also begins to sing but out of view.  We suspect this to be the female as her song is also less strident.  We stand for quite some time watching as they fly together, then apart, singing and then quiet.  We can’t help but believe that this is an established couple, enjoying the spring sunshine and preparing to set up home together.

With our mission accomplished we finish off the walk by strolling towards the cabin and then turning right to head down to Church Town road.  Jon spots a clump of Primroses and can’t resist another picture.  It is an ideal way to celebrate spring.

Footnote:  We were intrigued by the origin of the name Nuthatch.  Apparently the name comes from the middle English “nuthak” meaning nut hacker, from its habit of wedging a nut into a crack then repeatedly bashing it with its beak to get into the soft kernel.

Nuthatches primarily eat  insects and other invertebrates in the summer, switching to a diet of nuts and seeds in the winter.