Interesting view of Red-breasted Nuthatch's tongue

Oh, I just had to post this interesting pic of that Red-breasted Nuthatch because it shows the birds tongue. I have rarely seen, or photographed, a bird that shows it's tongue. The tongue is best viewed by double-clicking on the pic to enlarge it (though this puts much of the bird out of focus, the tongue is fairly clear). Much of it (at least on the underside that is visible in the pic) is surprisingly very pink (of course, I don't know what I would have expected).

Today the White-breasted Nuthatch was at my peanut feeder a lot, now that I just posted how I hadn't seen it. But it was shyer than the Red-breasted and I couldn't get a good pic of it.

Not only have we had a very warm fall in SE Colorado, but it has been very dry. My bird bath had dried up so I added some water. Wow, as soon as I walked away one of the Mountain Chickadees flew right down and began drinking--not just a sip or two, but sip after sip after sip. If there ever was demonstrable proof of the value of providing water for birds, this little bird provided it. SeEtta

Red-breasted Nuthatch, another view

I thought this was an interesting view showing the underside of this Red-breasted Nuthatch. As I have noted in the past, it seems that most who photograph birds want to present only the most "recognizable" views, those being of the head and the upper portions of birds. However in the field, birders often see the bird from below so I like to put pics showing this view on the blog.

This pic shows a classical view of nuthatches as they are often seen head down on trees. The details of this bird are best seen by double-clicking on it to enlarge the pic. I think pattern on the underside of the tail is very interesting. SeEtta

I finally found a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Canon City, and the bird is coming to my feeder as it evident in these pics. Birders all over the front range have been reporting seeing Red-breasted Nuthatches all the way to far eastern Colo as part of the unusually large migration of mountain birds down to the plains this fall. But I hadn't seen, or heard, one until this bird showed up.

This nuthatch spends all it's time at the feeder with peanut pieces and which is caged in to keep the squirrels at bay (though they still manage to snag the peanut feeder inside the cage and pull it to the edge where they chew the paint off the sides trying to get the peanuts). I still hear the White-breasted Nuthatch but haven't seen it on the feeder, possibly because this nuthatch is on it so much.
SeEtta