Brown-headed Nuthatchs in Texas

Brown-headed Nuthatchs live in Texas all year. Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward loblolly and longleaf pine seeds.

Humid subtropical in the east and along the Gulf, semi-arid to arid in the west; long, hot summers and short, mild winters over most of the state.

Across Texas, brown-headed nuthatches typically nest from February–May. Nest site: excavated cavity in dead pine snags; nest boxes. Females lay 3–7 eggs, incubate for 13–15 days, and young leave the nest after 18–19 days.

Afternoon highs regularly exceed 95°F — nest boxes need shade or light-colored, ventilated construction, and water matters as much as food.

• Have boxes cleaned and mounted before January — brown-headed nuthatches begin prospecting ahead of egg-laying.
• Use a 1 in entrance on a 4 × 4 in floor, mounted 5–12 ft.
• Fit a pole baffle or hole guard; ventilation gaps and drainage holes are essential.
• Clean out old nests after each brood and again after May.

Of the regional native plants we track for Texas, these 8 provide food or cover brown-headed nuthatches use:

Travels in family groups through pine woods; readily uses small nest boxes in pine yards.

• Best foods: Black-oil sunflower, Suet.
• In Texas's winter: Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.

Full diet breakdown for brown-headed nuthatches · Best feeder for brown-headed nuthatches