Birds and Their Nests

/ Rebecca

Discovering a bird’s nest tucked away among the branches is always fascinating, offering a glimpse into the varied shapes and materials they use to construct their homes. Here are several nests, both occupied and unoccupied, that I’ve come across this year.

… And every day the she-bird crouched on her nest, silent,
And every day I, a curious child, never too close, never disturbing them,
Cautiously peering, absorbing, translating …
~Walt Whitman

19 thoughts on “Birds and Their Nests”

  4. Several years ago, Paul and some friends were observing a pair of osprey building a nest. He eventually painted a family portrait of them. The nest included all sorts of things, including a dog collar. Love your images❤️

    Reply

    • Thanks, Kathy. This osprey nest was built not too far out from an observation deck, so it is easy to watch them during the nesting season. What a fun idea for the painting. I hadn’t thought about the interesting items that the birds might find to bring back and include in their nest. 🙂

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  7. What a delight to find each of them, large and small. Doesn’t the eagle look content in that nest? Robins seem to find the darnedest places to nest and the elbow of my front porch light has been a favorite for years. Now, every Spring I actually block the elbow as the nest is directly over the mailbox and blocks getting out of the front door. I got a smile from seeing the nest on the ladder … any port in a storm! I also like the Walt Whitman quote which is perfect for these photos.

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    • Thanks, Linda. We were able to locate four eagle nests on the levee with three having white heads looking out. If nature is kind, there should be plenty of baby eagles. I wasn’t sure if the nest on the ladder had been put there by man or bird, but I really liked its shape and material. Like your robin, I have a cardinal that comes back each year to nest outside my back porch. It used to build its nest in a bush, but now that the bush is gone, it builds in a hanging flower basket. That makes it hard to water the flowers because I don’t want to get the nest and babies wet, but I usually leave it because I really enjoy watching the babies grow.

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      • Oh I hope you see lots of eaglets when the time comes Rebecca. I guess it takes those eaglets a while to grow big enough to look out of those big nests. I was sorry my cardinal mama didn’t return the following year to nest in the barberry bush. I hope it wasn’t because I discovered her and was taking photos. I think more it was dangerous as she had to go in between the thorny branches once the babies were born. Her feathers were pretty ragged by then, but then it was a very cold May and she really sat deep into the nest which was also a bit flimsy. We are lucky to see these treasures!

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