Neighborhood Nests

There is a lot of activity taking place outdoors.  We are a couple of months into spring, and many birds have returned to warm weather activities after winter.  They are actively engaged in finding mates, building nests, laying eggs, and raising young.  Birds in backyards, woodlands and open fields build a variety of types of nests, many of which we can find when we are outside enjoying our daily activities.

Nests are used by birds of all species as a place where eggs can be kept warm and safe until they are ready to hatch.  Some birds build a new nest every year, and some will build a nest for every new clutch of eggs.  Others return to use an old nest, one of their own they keep adding material to or one that is found in a convenient place worthy of renovation and reuse. 

The type of nest and the habitat it is located in are excellent indicators of the specific bird living there.  Each species is known for a specific type of construction including ground nests, platforms located low in foliage or high in trees, open cup nests, closed or domed cup nests, and nests created using a natural cavity, such as a tree hollow.  Nests keep eggs and young together, provide a place hidden from predators, with protection from harsh weather.  They are built from materials available in the area.  These materials include twigs to pine needles to monofilament fishing line.  The form and function of the nest does not widely vary for any species.  As you are out walking this spring, here are a few of the more interesting nests that you may be able to spot. 

Blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata, are found in forests, meadows, parks and backyards, and build a bulky nest of thorny twigs, bark, moss and string.  Their nests are located in the crotch or outer branch of deciduous or conifer trees.  Nests are well hidden, seven to eight inches across, and lined with soft rootlets.  Jays, known for their brash, loud calls, exhibit very different behavior around nest sites, becoming very quiet so as to not give away the nest location.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, are small, very quick fliers.  Nests can be found in a variety of trees, ten to twenty feet off the ground.  Made of plant down, fibers, and bud scales, nests are attached to a twig or small branch that slants downward.   Hummingbirds use spider silk to securely bind the nest to the limb under a canopy of leaves.  The nest, about the size of a thimble and covered with green-blue lichen, is very hard to see, resembling a knot on the branch.

The Baltimore oriole, Icterus galbula, is often found in city parks and backyards.  The oriole builds a thin-walled, deep, basket-like nest of coarse grass lined with finer grass. The nest hangs from a forked tree branch between ten and twenty feet off the ground.  Nests are commonly hung in locations that are well concealed by leaves.  Many orioles like to nest with Eastern kingbirds, an aggressive species that keeps away predators and cowbirds.

As you are out walking along stream banks and woodland paths, and maintaining a close watch on your own backyard, keep a keen eye open for observing the places that birds call home.  Getting to know the area and habits of the birds as they raise families is a rewarding experience.