DIY nutties pt1

First you need mud!
I visited the otter sanctuary at Chapel on le frith recently and amongst other things, I found a pair of nutties setting up home. They were fetching the mud from the pens where the otters had been clambering in and out of the water.

400D 100-400 @400
1/200 f/5.6 iso 400
hand-held
large crop maybe 30% of original retained

C&C welcome

Hi Eric this is normally a beautiful bird what a shame. nice capture though.
John

Hi Eric,

Now that's an environmental shot if I ever saw one!

I love the way you're caught a different side to this beautiful bird! and still managed a catch-light in the eye! Superb exposure rendering great feather detail and colours! Great composition!

I’m looking forward to Part 2!

Seeing his normaly pristine bird in working and dirty mode was what attracted me to the shot. Thanks for the comments.
Eric

Very unusual and very interesting Eric.

Scruffy nutty - now there's something you don't see every day - great capture Eric

Never been fortunate to have witnessed this activity with a nuthatch Eric, so thanks for showing it!

Definately a high interest shot in my book, and a decent result from such a crop

Alan

Hello Eric.

They collect the mud and make the nest hole smaller if its to big. A good capture and one that I have not seen before.

What a real scruff! Never seen one and the only ones I've seen posted usually pose the same way, so this is refreshingly different.