Brown-headed Nuthatch Carving 121

This summer I took a trip to Destin, FL on an invitation from one of my friends from Virginia Beach. We stayed a few days there in a nice Airbnb, and each day went to Henderson Beach State Park (where I photographed some of my shorebirds and Least Tern in a previous post).  It was very beautiful there in Destin and the state park was really nice as well. After the trip and on the way back to Miami, we stopped at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. I really wanted to see pitcher plants, and to look for birds. While hiking I came across a small flock of Brown-headed Nuthatches. They were pretty high up in the pines and actively feeding and chirping a lot. So after getting home I started work on my Nuthatch. The bird I carved is based off of the Florida subspecies: Sitta pusila caniceps, which was once called the Gray-headed Nuthatch.

While doing research on this subspecies I came across a lovely book with a great quote from the book "Life Histories of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers, and their Allies" by Arthur Cleveland Bent:

The Gray-headed Nutchatch was recorded by Arthur H. Howell (1932) as "an abundant resident in northwestern Florida; moderately common in the central and southern parts." It has been taken at least as far south as Miami. Its home is in the extensive open pine forests of the State, known as the "flatwoods." The northern tourist, seeking a winter sojourn in Florida, rides in the southbound train for hour after hour with nothing to see from the car window but apparently endless miles of uninteresting flat pine barrens, until he wearies of the monotony. He does not appreciate the intriguing vastness of these almost boundless flatwoods; nor does he admire the stately beauty of the longleaf pines and the picturesque charm of the Caribbean pines. Only the naturalist fully appreciates them, for "there is a nameless charm in the flatwoods, there is enchantment for the real lover of nature in their very sameness. One feels a sense of their infinity as the forest stretches away into space beyond the limits of vision; they convey to the mind a feeling of boundless freedom. The soft, brilliant sunshine filters down through the needle-like leaves and falls in patches on the flower covered floor; there is a low, humming sound, something mimicking the patter of raindrops, as the warm southeast wind drifts through the trees; even the loneliness has an attraction," as so well expressed by Charles Torrey Simpson (1923).

...It's such a charming and magical statement. And now-a-days these vast boundless flat woods are unfortunately a thing of the past. Knowing this and doing more research of the Long-leaf Pine forest that once grew over much of Florida, and the Southeast United State, prompted me to plant a few of these trees at my parents house in Manatee County, FL. The trees I bought from Sweet Bay Nursery, in Parrish, FL, and I highly recommend them for finding a wide variety of Florida native plants, and great customer service.

Brown-headed Nuthatch - Sitta pusilla caniceps

Almost finished carving, just needs legs and feet. 

David K. Kramer 2019