There are certain birds I have unusually good luck finding, and there are those that I have unusually bad luck finding.

Waterfowl, especially hooded and common mergansers, seem to show up everywhere I go from late fall through early spring. Baltimore orioles may as well be my spirit bird for as often as I see them in the spring and summer. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are supposed to be “uncommon” where I live in New England, but that doesn’t stop me from finding them frequently.

Owls, on the other hand, have proven to be exceedingly elusive over the years. Sure, owls aren’t an everyday occurrence, but for the amount of time I spend outdoors, you’d think I would stumble upon one more often than I do, which is almost never.

A similar phenomenon is true for my bird photography. There are birds that always seem to come out sharp in my photos, even if I think the results will be lousy because of weather conditions or other factors. Then there are the birds that always seem to come out slightly blurry or grainy, even if I think I’m nailing the shot.

Bluebirds and chickadees fit in the latter category. I did get some nice shots of bluebirds when they visited my feeders frequently several years ago. When I photograph them in “the wild,” however, the photos never turn out quite right. Chickadees, with their dark eyes set among their black caps, are tricky to get as well. Eyes are a crucial part of any good bird photo, and if the eyes are lost in a sea of black, the overall image suffers.

For me anyway, white-breasted nuthatches are one of the most photogenic species. It seems as though weather conditions, camera settings and how rushed I am to get the shot do not make a difference, as the photos come out clear and sharp regardless. In addition, the acrobatic birds often strike an appealing pose as I release the shutter.

I photographed a white-breasted nuthatch at my feeding station the other day. Rather than photographing birds on the feeders, I sprinkle sunflower seeds in the nooks and crannies of an old wooden fence section to make for a more appealing setting.

Tufted titmice frequently use one of the wooden posts as a safe landing spot before heading up to the platform feeder, so I was focused on that spot when a nuthatch suddenly appeared there. Like most small birds, nuthatches don’t sit still for very long, so I brought the camera up to my eye quickly and pushed the shutter halfway to ensure my focus. Of course, the autofocus started zooming in and out despite the red dot being clearly aimed right at the bird’s head. Without the focus locking in, I pushed the shutter all the way a few times and hoped for the best.

I looked at the small screen on the back of the camera expecting to see blurry photos of an unrecognizable bird, but to my surprise, the photos were clear and perfectly composed. Only a nuthatch, I said to myself.

Not only do white-breasted nuthatches strike acrobatic poses and have multi-colored plumage highlighted by bright white and steely blue-gray, their dark eyes are set among their white faces. Their black caps begin well above the eyes. Red-breasted nuthatches, the smaller cousins of the white-breasted nuthatch, are photogenic as well, but have a black eye stripe, making them a bit trickier to photograph.

I love looking for and photographing all birds and nature. Whether the results are good, bad or somewhere in between, it’s an enjoyable, healthy and fascinating hobby. Sometimes I do ask myself, however, why can’t all birds be like white-breasted nuthatches?