I believe Red-cockaded Woodpeckers do the same, although it may be that they
make their nests where the sap will run to provide that protection, rather
than smearing it themselves. In any case, that is one way to identify a nest
hole; the sap around it and below it.

Kristin Stewart
Olympia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Paulsen" <birdbooker at zipcon.net>
To: "Mike Denny" <m.denny at charter.net>
Cc: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 3:25 PM
Subject: red-breasted Nuthtach and pitch/sap


> HI:
> If you look in Hal Harrison's Field Guide to Western Birds Nests on plate
> 20 you will see a red-breasted nuthatch nest with pitch/sap smeared around
> the entrance hole!
>
> --
> Ian Paulsen
> Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
> A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
> "Rallidae all the way!"
>