Species-Specific Management (SSM)

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

1. Snag management is the principle means for management. These birds are "weak excavators" and tree species do not seem to be important in their nest tree selection, as long as sapwood and heartwood are decayed enough for excavation.
2. Management should focus primarily on conifers.
3. Management for snags alone is not sufficient for the red-breasted nuthatch.
4. The management for seed crops of hemlocks, firs, spruce, pine, and other conifers also is an important aspect for their management. Maintain stands of older pine in rotations, as well as maintain clumps of mature conifers in decadent groups or stands.
5. Other benefits of managing for firs, spruces, and pines are that:
   • The deep furrows of these trees support diverse insect populations such as spiders, insect larvae, insect eggs, beetles, and pine borers, as opposed to trees with shallow furrows.
   • Deep furrows of these trees also provide a storage site for seeds.
6. Habitat alterations such as intensive forest management or cutting trees for fuel wood directly effects primary cavity nesting birds by reducing the availability of dead or decaying trees.
7. Forest management practices must be limited where the red-breasted nuthatch is to be managed.
8. A nest tree must have a large enough diameter to accommodate a cavity with room for an adult bird with nestlings.
9. Nesting in larger trees provides thick walls for insulation and protection from predators, and lessens the danger of the nest tree breaking at cavity height.
10. In stand management, tall trees will offer greater protection from predators because nests can be placed high above the ground.
11. Cavity heights range from 5-100 feet up the tree but are usually found 15 feet above the ground.
12. Red-breasted nuthatches have a preference to feed in large trees greater than 22 inches (50 cm) diameter at breast height.
13. Research is necessary in order to establish means to protect the birds during the critical periods of nesting. The most important of which is the 18-21 day fledgling period.
14. Feeding stations are another management technique that can increase human enjoyment and provide foods at critical periods of the winters.
15. Readily eaten foods are as follows: chopped kernels of walnuts, pecans, suet, sunflower seeds.
16. Nest boxes lined with grasses, mosses, shredded bark, and plant fibers are attractive for nuthatch utilization. The size of the hole 1 1/4 inches (2.9 cm) is critical to whether a box will be utilized and nesting is not disrupted by larger birds.
17. Monitor and manipulated management techniques by keeping records and comparing findings to previous studies.

A contribution by Kevin Cox, Joseph D. Corleto (1993), and Christopher M. Lichty (1993)
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0321

This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.