The Comeback
As MDC State Ornithologist, Kristen Heath-Acre notes, “Thanks to Mark Twain National Forest and other partners, we have large swaths of restored landscape of pine oak woodlands. So, we returned the habitat, and now we’re returning the birds to their habitat from Arkansas”. The Brown-headed Nuthatch Project began as a pilot in 2020 and found success in re-introducing a native bird back to southern Missouri. The birds are captured in Arkansas, flown in by MDC plane, banded by staff in unique color codes with some fitted with transmitters, and released. Nuthatches have nested here and spread out as far as 27 miles away.
For Heath-Acre, it’s really a part of a whole ecosystem restoration. “When we’re talking about habitat restoration, we’re talking about holistic restoration. Why bring the habitat back but not the whole ecosystem. So, this is a part of that.”
The Birds
Brown-headed nuthatches are tiny birds known by their squeaky rubber duck sound. Their notes are not complex, rather a jumbled assortment of short squeaks that communicate and amplify as they gather in large numbers. They are agile birds with strong feet that help them climb up, down, around, and hang on pine tree trunks and branches. These nuthatches are excavators that dig through bark for food and create cavities for nesting. These excavations help other species. Very few birds use tools, but they have been known to use a piece of bark to help uproot and consume spiders and insects from under the bark.
To Discover more about Brown-headed nuthatches, check out the MDC Field Guide, and listen to our Nature Boost podcast Episode 77.
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