Brown-headed nuthatch sings once more in Missouri

MISSOURI—“Squeaka, squeaka.” That’s the sound of a brown-headed nuthatch, and it’s music to people’s ears on the Mark Twain National Forest. After more than a century, this small songbird is making a triumphant return to Missouri.

Forest and Northern Research Station employees have been working with the Missouri Department of Conservation and other partners to translocate brown-headed nuthatches from Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas to sites within the Mark Twain. Last year, 46 birds were relocated, with 56 more released this year. Having this many nuthatches back in Missouri will give these birds a chance to re-establish a foothold in their native land.

The Eleven Point Ranger District wildlife biologist holds a brown-headed nuthatch ready to be released. USDA Forest Service photo.

Widespread logging in the late 1800s and early 1900s virtually wiped out shortleaf pine woodlands across the Missouri Ozarks, forcing the birds to find homes elsewhere. The regenerated forest seen today is dominated by oaks and hickories. Following extensive restoration of pine woodlands on the Mark Twain over the past 20 years, the necessary habitat has been re-established for brown-headed nuthatches in Missouri.

“We are proud of the monumental effort and dedication it has taken to re-establish a suitable nuthatch habitat and look forward to continuing to restore and manage habitat for native species to live and thrive on the forest,” said Nate Muenks, a biologist on the Mark Twain. “We continue to follow good forest management practices, including prescribed burning and thinning of overstocked stands through responsible timber harvest, as well as eliminating threats from invasive species like feral hogs.”

Measuring at just four inches in length, the species is a non-migratory, year-round resident. They are relatively weak fliers, so their dispersal a few hundred miles north from current breeding populations in Arkansas, without a connecting shortleaf pine habitat, is unlikely.

Frank Thompson, a research wildlife biologist with the Northern Research Station in Columbia, Missouri, has been involved with this re-introduction from concept to reality. “After a year, the first group of this new Missouri population has done very well, and we expect this year’s additions to bolster their numbers and have even more breeding success,” Thompson said.

Along with extensive habitat restoration and management, the reintroduction was made possible through partnerships with several organizations, including the Missouri Department of Conservation, Tall Timbers Research Station, University of Missouri, and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Forest management has restored the habitat needed for the “little squeakers,” as seen in this photo from the release. USDA Forest Service photo.

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