First record for state

Linda Gilbert of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, observed a Brown-headed Nuthatch at her feeder on November 21, 2001. The identity of the bird was confirmed by a member of the Ohio Rare Birds Record Committee. The nuthatch remained at Linda’s feeder through December and, at last report, into January.

Linda observed the bird on a FeederWatch count day and fully documented the bird, so her confirmed sighting will be entered into the FeederWatch database. On her supplemental Rare Bird Form, Linda said “[the nuthatch] climbs headfirst down the side of our bird feeders and oak trees. It eats upside-down from the suet and peanut feeders." She continues, "This bird will be a state record for Ohio, pending on the decision of the Ohio Bird Records Committee in Columbus, Ohio. Most of the people on that committee have been to my house and have seen this bird. Actually, we've had over 200 people stop by to see this nuthatch since it first appeared."

The range of the Brown-headed Nuthatch extends in a band along the Atlantic and Gulf states where the nuthatches are usually found in pine forests and join mixed species flocks in winter. The northernmost part of its range includes the southern part of New Jersey and southeast Virginia. We cannot speculate as to why the bird traveled as far as northeastern Ohio.