As we speak, we’re going to movie the birds that go straight up and down tree trunks to see how they handle to defy gravity and navigate these vertical surfaces.
We’re wildlife filmmakers Tim and Russ Laman, and we normally journey the world filming. However on this sequence, we’re utilizing our cameras to discover the lives of the birds that stay proper in our yard in Massachusetts. Welcome to Yard Birds Revealed.
[WOMAN ANNOUNCER IN VOICEOVER]
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[TIM LAMAN ONSCREEN AND VOICEOVER]
When you stay in an space like we do right here in Massachusetts, the place we’ve timber in our yard, you in all probability observed that there are particular birds that spend plenty of time going up and down the tree trunks.
Right here we’ve nuthatches and woodpeckers that try this. And so we determined to take our specialty cameras and get a more in-depth have a look at how these birds navigate these vertical surfaces.
[RUSSELL ONSCREEN AND VOICEOVER]
One factor that we need to seize with these tree trunk birds is the angle of the vertical floor that they’re residing on. To do this, we’ve a protracted probe lens that we will mount trying straight up or straight down the tree.
[MUSIC]
[RUSSELL VOICEOVER]
This permits us to actually see what it appears wish to be a woodpecker or a nuthatch, and permits us to get the digital camera lens flush towards the tree floor.
The very first thing that you just discover whereas watching these tree trunk birds is their superb potential to stay to the tree trunk.
Zooming in carefully, we see that they’ve extremely maneuverable toes with lengthy hooked claws. These claws enable them to seize onto the nooks and crannies of the tree bark.
[MUSIC]
[TIM AND RUSSELL TALKING]
[TIM] Ooh, that’s a cool look.
[RUSSELL] I feel it’s going to be fairly cool.
[TIM] Oh, have a look at that! Wow.
[RUSSELL VOICEOVER]
One distinction between nuthatches and woodpeckers is how they transfer on the trunk.
And we had enjoyable watching this in motion. Nuthatches appear to run any which method. Typically dealing with down the tree, however typically operating sideways or straight again up. If you have a look at them carefully, you may discover that their physique is de facto center-weighted with a extremely tiny tail.
So that they’re sort of like a little bit spherical ball that’s completely balanced and capable of transfer in any course on the tree trunk.
Woodpeckers, alternatively, at all times face straight up the tree. As they transfer, they appear to hop, leaning ahead after which lunging upwards, extending their toes earlier than grabbing again on.
As quickly as they latch on, they lean again, utilizing their tail like a 3rd leg of a tripod to brace themselves.
It seems that their central tail feathers are literally very stiff and inflexible, and provides them a sturdy base to lean on.
[TIM AND RUSSELL TALKING]
[TIM] Okay, right here comes the woodpecker.
[RUSSELL] It’s so humorous how they hop down the tree like that.
[TIM] Yeah, it’s an ideal view of him backing down the tree.
[LAUGHS]
[RUSSELL] It’s fairly humorous.
[TIM] Oh, have a look at that, that’s a pleasant view.
[RUSSELL] That’s excellent.
[TIM] He simply, like, acquired a little bit gentle in his eye. Oh, have a look at that.
[RUSSELL] Oh that’s nice.
[TIM] In focus, in focus.
[TIM ONSCREEN]
All proper. And now we’re gonna try to deploy the monster tripod… to do a high down shot. Let’s see how excessive this factor will go.
[RUSSELL VOICEOVER]
We realized that our view trying upward alongside the tree trunks is lots like a woodpecker’s view. And it acquired us questioning what it should appear like for a nuthatch. So we rigged the probe digital camera to look straight down the trunk. Even with the digital camera at solely 10 toes off the bottom, it was actually disorienting to be trying straight down like this, however nuthatches get this view from 80 toes within the air all day lengthy.
As we continued watching, we puzzled why these birds developed to maneuver so in a different way. And we discovered that it needed to do with their completely different feeding methods.
Woodpeckers sacrifice some mobility for energy, with their steady tripod base, robust legs, and hefty beak. They’ll drill deep into heartwood to get out huge beetle grubs that lie inside. And so they’re the one forest birds that may do that.
Nuthatches, alternatively, are extremely agile. With their potential to see each angle of the bark, together with from above, they will spot meals within the nooks and crannies that different birds might need missed.
They won’t get as huge of morsels, however they don’t miss a factor on the bark’s floor.
[TIM ONSCREEN]
I feel we acquired one thing good, it labored. The birds have been proper below the lens right here. They didn’t thoughts this huge tripod with the fabric on it right here in any respect.
[RUSSELL ONSCREEN]
Nicely, it was actually fascinating to get an in depth have a look at how these birds navigate the vertical world of those tree trunks.
[TIM ONSCREEN]
Thanks for tuning in to Yard Birds Revealed. And remember to try our different episodes on the Cornell Lab YouTube channel and the All About Birds web site.
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