Winter is a Great Time to Look for Bird Nests

by Kevin Strauss

For months now on my drive to work, I have noticed a pair of bird nests in shrubs on the roadside. At this point in winter they are tall with snow, but soon they will be alive with a new generation of birds. While we see and hear fewer birds here in the winter, now is the perfect time to look for nests. Without their leaves, the bare limbs of the deciduous trees and shrubs can't hide their small round nests.

Generally speaking, the size of a nest gives you a clue about what size of bird built it. Many songbirds build nests 8-10 feet up in trees and shrubs. That hight is high enough to give the birds some protection from ground predators like foxes and minks, but low enough to keep them away from predatory hawks and squirrels.

The most common kind of bird's nest is termed a "cup nest" for their cup or bowl-shapes. About 75 percent of all songbird species build this kind of nest and virtually all of them make it in the about the same way. Birds like chickadees, bluejays and goldfinches all begin by building a supporting platform for the nest. This might be a few crossed sticks lashed or wedged in the branches of a shrub. Then the bird begins weaving the outside of the cup out of twigs, bark, leaves and grasses. This weaving makes the next strong and flexible. In many cases, if a nest falls from a tree, or if a tree comes down, the nest survives the fall.

The last step is to make the inside of the nest. Many birds use the much softer mud, moss, fur or their own feathers to insulate the nest and make it a soft place to lay bird eggs. A good fit is important for mother birds, so they often end their nest-building by sitting in the middle of the new nest and slowly rotating to squish the nest into a perfect fit.

But just because birds often use sticks and grass to build their nests doesn't mean that they will only use natural nesting materials. Birds are the consummate "make do" artists. It takes a lot of energy to gather nesting materials, especially in a city where trees might be few and far between. Researchers estimate that a bird might make as many as 1,000 flights to collect enough materials for a nest. So they aren't averse to cutting corners. A raven pair wove a nest out of barbed wire in Texas. A pair of California warblers made a nest of Kleenex. (Either they lived in a dry climate, or had a well-sheltered nest.) In one large office building in California, a pair of canyon wrens (related to our house wrens) used rubber bands, paper clips, matches, thumbtacks and shoelaces to build a nest on a rafter.

While most northwoods songbirds aren't quite so creative, their nests are still amazing creations. This is also a good time to look at nests up close and realize how intricate these structures are. Now is the time to take note of where birds nests are. Then you can watch for the songbirds who take up residence in the spring.

The Ely Timberjay