Breeding Red-breasted Nuthatches in the Central Valley

On 20 May 2024, we documented what we believe to be the first photographic evidence of nestling provisioning by Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) in the Central Valley of California. We recorded an adult female feeding nestlings in a dead branch of a London plane tree (Platanus × acerifolia,) at the corner of C and 7th Street in Davis, CA. We also observed nest cavity excavation by Red-breasted Nuthatches in different parts of the same tree branch in spring 2023, 2024, and 2025. Using eBird observations, we found two or three or other probable breeding records and 46 records of over-summering Red-breasted Nuthatches in the Central Valley. Our 2024 record contributes to the growing literature, primarily focused in the Eastern US, on breeding records outside of the species’ core range following irruptive events.