{"id":1214,"date":"2014-07-03T02:18:06","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T02:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=1214"},"modified":"2014-07-03T02:18:06","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T02:18:06","slug":"looking-for-nests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=1214","title":{"rendered":"Looking for Nests"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Nests are hard to find.\u00a0 Sure, it\u2019s easy to see the House Wrens and Tree Swallows come and go from the nest boxes I have provided.\u00a0 Most songbirds, however, build and raise<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A House Wren about to feed a caterpillar to its young in Edie\u2019s backyard. Photo by Edie Parnum.<\/p><\/div>\n

their young in well-concealed cup nests.\u00a0 Paying particular attention to the dense areas, I examine my trees and shrubs. I look, too, for lumps in the crotches of trees.\u00a0I strain to see high in the canopy.\u00a0 The breeding season is well underway, but I\u2019ve found only two cup nests on my \u00be-acre property.<\/p>\n

Early this spring a female Robin built a nest out of grass, sticks, and mud in a dense holly below my raised deck.\u00a0 I could look down and see her settled in the nest. Once I glimpsed four pale aqua eggs. Here was an opportunity to learn more about the nesting behaviors of the American Robin. From a comfortable but hidden vantage, I planned to observe the mother robin incubate her eggs, then watch both parents feed the nestlings.\u00a0 Not so. One day the female and the eggs were gone.<\/p>\n

Plenty of predators prowl around my yard.\u00a0 A ravenous jay, crow, raccoon, possum, snake, or even chipmunk might have devoured the eggs and destroyed the nest. Last year Gray Catbirds screeched hysterically when a Blue Jay ate their eggs.<\/p>\n

Besides the Robin\u2019s, a Mourning Dove\u2019s nest was high in my in my crabapple tree this spring.\u00a0 While my nature-loving arborist was removing winter-damaged limbs, he exposed a flimsy nest with two eggs in the crevice of a broken branch. \u00a0He left it undisturbed. \u00a0 From\u00a0the ground I could glimpse a Mourning Dove\u2019s eye peering at me from above the<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

My arborist found this Mourning Dove nest while removing winter-damaged limbs. Photo by Mark Masciangelo.<\/p><\/div>\n

limb.\u00a0 Again, I hoped to watch and study the birds\u2019 breeding routine.\u00a0 After a few days of viewing the brooding dove, however, I could no longer see the bird nor any activity.\u00a0 Why did the nest fail?\u00a0 Perhaps the arborist\u2019s intrusive activity caused delayed nest abandonment.\u00a0 Of course, a predator could easily have seen and raided the exposed nest. Thankfully, both the doves and robins will nest again\u2014successfully, I hope.<\/p>\n

Besides searching for nests, I\u2019m also watching for signs of breeding.\u00a0 Catbirds, cardinals, house finches, song sparrows must be breeding here. Pairs of birds, singing loudly and persistently, cavort in my yard.\u00a0 Some birds carry nest material.\u00a0 Others have insects in their beaks. When they don\u2019t eat the food, they\u2019re carrying it to a nest\u2014a sure sign of breeding. I hope to discover the nest where nestlings are being fed.<\/p>\n

Though I have not seen it, I believe a pair of Brown Thrashers has a nest on my property.\u00a0 Most suburban yards don\u2019t host Brown Thrashers, especially not a breeding pair.\u00a0 Thrashers like dense shrubbery, not the typical manicured landscape. With their bills they sweep and probe the ground searching for insects and spiders in last year\u2019s fallen leaves. I was plenty pleased when a Brown Thrasher spent the winter in my yard.\u00a0 This reddish-brown, jay-sized bird with a streaked belly stayed silent and sheltered in the arborvitae and other dense vegetation. Every few days I saw it stray from its hiding place and feed on exposed ground.\u00a0 I assumed it would move on in the spring to breed elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Brown Thrasher feeds on the ground. Photo by Howard Eskin. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

In mid-May, a Brown Thrasher, possibly the same bird, sang vociferously from the treetops.\u00a0 Its loud doubled phrases are different from its close relative, the smaller Northern Mockingbird.\u00a0 The purpose of the song is to attract a mate and defend a breeding territory.\u00a0 Even so, I assumed my wintering bird (or new arrival) was just practicing and would not stay to breed here.\u00a0 When the singing stopped a week later, I concluded it had departed.<\/p>\n

To my surprise in late May and June I\u2019ve occasionally glimpsed a soundless thrasher. Males and females are indistinguishable, but sporadically I have seen two birds together.\u00a0 Could a pair be breeding after all? The thicket of forsythia and blackberries at the back of my property is perfect for thrashers. Every few days I spend a few minutes peering into the undergrowth and listening.\u00a0 \u00a0Once I saw it deep, deep inside the dense vegetation.\u00a0 On another occasion I discerned a barely audible whisper version of the thrasher song. According to my research, thrashers are mostly silent during the nesting season but sing softly in the vicinity of a nest.<\/p>\n

Surely thrashers have a nest in my shrubbery.\u00a0 It is probably just a few feet off the ground, but hidden in the impenetrable thicket. My chances of discovering it are slim.\u00a0 Because they consider me a potential predator, the birds probably engage in evasive behavior to lead me astray.\u00a0 Undeterred, I keep looking and listening.<\/p>\n

I need a vigilant, alert ornithology student to help find the nest. A sharp-eyed young person could spot the bug in the thrasher\u2019s beak.\u00a0 Together we could find the nest.\u00a0 See the baby birds. Watch their parents put insects into gaping mouths.\u00a0 Observe the naked babies grow pinfeathers followed by juvenile feathers.\u00a0 We would thrill to witness them fledge and take flight into the world of my backyard.\u00a0 Alas, without my student, I evidently can\u2019t be a voyeur of birds\u2019 private lives.<\/p>\n

By searching for nests, I\u2019ve learned more about helping breeding birds succeed. I\u2019ll plant more dense shrubs where birds can build and protect their nests. These shrubs will be insect-hosting natives instead of the non-native forsythia. Already I do not tidy up the thickets and corners of the yard. \u00a0Thrashers and other ground-feeding birds require the leaf litter to feed themselves and their offspring. Next fall I\u2019ll welcome leaves into the perennial beds, too. And, most important, I\u2019ll grow more native plants where birds can find plentiful insects to feed their young.<\/p>\n

In some ways I\u2019m unable to help and must trust the birds\u2019 own survival abilities.\u00a0 Predators abound, but the birds possess skills to protect their nests, eggs, and nestlings.\u00a0 Vigilant and ingenious, they know how to keep their nest locations secret.\u00a0 Thankfully, when a nest fails, most are able to produce a second brood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s summer now, and I see lots of baby birds around the yard.\u00a0 The nests are somewhere nearby. Birds are breeding here successfully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum Nests are hard to find.\u00a0 Sure, it\u2019s easy to see the House Wrens and Tree Swallows come and go from the nest boxes I have provided.\u00a0 Most songbirds, however, build and raise their young in well-concealed cup … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25,27,8,85,86,41,10,60,5,84],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1214"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1220,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions\/1220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}