NESTS!

Spring is here and so is my annual essay on nests.  Looking for nests is lots of fun.  They come in all different sizes, shapes, and descriptions.

In most cases, before you can have a nest, you must find a mate.  Every species of bird has it's own way of doing this.  Some, like peacocks, spread their gorgeous tails and strut around looking as handsome as they can, in the hope of attracting the attention of a female.  Many birds sing, and sing, and sing, and sing, and sing, hoping that a mate will be attracted by their song.  This male pigeon has swelled his chest out as far as he can and is strutting around, doing a little bobbing dance, trying to attract the ladies.  Sadly, they do not seem impressed, even though he's giving it his very best.  Bower birds seem to be attracted to the color blue, so the males collect evey blue thing they can find with which to decorate their bowers, including car keys, whistles, gum wrappers, and baby binkies.

If they're lucky, all of their singing and strutting around will attract a mate.  Some birds select a new mate every mating season, while others mate for life.  It's not uncommon to see a male mallard swimming around Marlake, or Brooklake, with a harem of two females following in his wake, so some birds may opt to select more than one mate at a time.  These are northern flickers that I spotted at Soo's Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

Some nests, or bowers, are built before mate selection begins, but whether the nests are built before or after mating, nests are certainly built.  They're not only built, but built in a variety of different sizes, shapes, and descriptions, depending upon the species of bird, and what's available in the neighborhood.  This is a red-tailed hawk's nest.  There was no hawk on the nest when I took the photograph, but Adele's bird-spotting group spotted one there during an earlier visit.  You can watch a live-cam of an active red-tailed hawk nest at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/cornellhawks.

 

 

I found this nest lying on the ground in the coniferous arboretum several years ago.  Instead of picking it up, I decided to leave it in situ for others to find and enjoy.  In situ is a fancy term meaning, "as is".  Over night, I decided that I wanted to pick it up and save it in case we ever get a wildlife education center in the park, but when I went back to retrieve it, it was gone.  This was a very fine nest made out of tiny twigs that were all woven tightly together.  What a beautiful nest!

 

 

I found this nest on the ground near Marlake early this year.  It looked like it was comprised primarily of mud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adele Freeland found this gorgeous nest in her backyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Historical Society of Federal Way often displays this nest in a box near the old Barker cabin.  You can see that it's more loosely woven than the other nests, is larger, and is made out of larger twigs.  This is one beautiful nest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not all nests are made out of twigs.  I found this nest at Shadow Lake, near Auburn.  This species builds nests out of woven grasses and moss that resemble a dangling sack, rather than a sturdy cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hummingbird nests aren't much bigger than a thimble.  This photograph is blurry because I copied it from the livecam.  If you want to watch the hummingbird nest livecam feed, you can find it at:  http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam.  My photograph is of last year's nest.  The current nest contains eggs that were laid on April 22nd and 24th.

 

 

 

 

Some species build nests out of dabs of mud.  I found this nest at a nature preserve near Salem, Oregon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some birds build their nests inside of holes in trees, such as this red-breasted sapsucker...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, this black-capped chickadee.  I photographed both of these nests at West Hylebos Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some birds take advantage of manmade objects in which to build their nests, such as this violet-green swallow.  Not every man-made birdhouse is attractive to birds, though.  Many are designed to be attractive to humans, but birds ignore them completely.  Vivid colors and quaint little cabins are far less important to birds than the size of the entrance hole, the location of the birdhouse, and often-times the cleanliness of the birdhouse.  Some birds will use the same nest year after year, while other birds will not.  Man-made birdhouses should be opened and cleaned every year, providing each generation with a new nest-building experience.

Other birds have adapted to, and take advantage of, the presence of humans in their lives.  Our apartment complex has exterior dryer vents that attract swallows every spring.  Each dryer vent is covered by four or five louvered slats.  I haven't actually witnessed the swallows breaking, or removing, the slats, but one day there are slats, and the next there are empty holes; and, if one pays attention, one can watch the swallows fly into and out of said holes; and, if one waits long enough, one will see baby swallows peeking out of said holes.  Each hole supplies an elevated, protected, warm, lint-lined environment in which to raise young.  I think birds are pretty smart, don't you?

 

Some nests are made out of very thick, sturdy, limbs and located way up high, such as this eagle's nest.  The object sitting up behind the eagle's nest is the livecam.  If you want to watch live-action feed of the nest, you can find it at:  http://www.hornbyisland.net/eagles.html.

 

 

 

 

 

So, mating takes place, nests are built, and eggs are laid.  These beautiful eggs were laid in a nest near Marlake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These baby juncos also hatched in a nest near Marlake.  Baby birds have one obsession, and that's being fed.  To aid that end, they spend most of their time with their very large mouths wide open.  Baby bird mouths are usually brightly colored in order to give their parents an aiming point in which to place all of those yummy bugs they collect.  When momma bird shows up with a beak full of tasty worm, guess where that worm is going to go?  I photographed these babies when they were freshly hatched.  One youngster had already figured out which way was up, while the others were still struggling.  In the bird world, you snooze - you lose.

 

It didn't take long for the robins to go from beautiful blue eggs to filling the nest.  Baby birds don't do much but eat, sleep, poop, and grow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And grow, and grow, and grow.  These baby robins had gotten so big that they could hardly fit in the nest anymore.  A day or two later, the babies fledged, flying off and leaving the nest forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird nests aren't just flimsy things made of twigs that are apt to fly away in the merest storm.  Bird nests are amazing feats of engineering, created without the use of hands and fingers, able to withstand strong winds and growing families.  This is a great-blue heron's nest that I photographed at Soo's Creek.  That is one full nest!  It's not only capable of holding full-grown great blue herons (and I know for a fact that the wing-span of an adult great-blue heron is nearly as wide as I am tall), but all of their nearly full-grown offspring.

 

 

 

 

I dare you to try to build something this sturdy, with your hands tied behind your back, using nothing but your mouth and lips.  Human engineers may be able to build sky-scrapers using a myriad of tools and massive machinery, but there's not a single one of them who could build a nest using nothing but their lips and tongue.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birds are amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend, Adele Freeland, has provided me with a wonderful link where you can actually watch birds in the process of building a nest.  Check it out at:  http://www.mastersconnection.com/index.php/archived-articles/general/1130-structural-engineer-in-action. 

 

Teri I. Lenfest