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Bird Nesting Information
And Where They Might Do It
Nests may be found in all sorts of locations, including on the ground. Construction varies in both design and materials, from quite elaborate structures to a few tossed-together twigs. Reports include birds nesting in hanging flower baskets, watering cans, the pocket of an overcoat hanging on a clothes line -- even the change dispenser of a soft drink machine. In the spring of 1997, a mother robin built a nest on a pedestrian traffic light in downtown Indianapolis. Last summer Virgil Colligan from Stanhope, New Jersey reported that: "A family of wrens continually chose to build a nest in a fire alarm bell, mounted on an outside school wall. It became so filled with nesting material that if there had been a fire alarm, no one would have heard it ring." And on the other side of the country, in California, fire station commander Ron Wilson of Manhattan Beach hung his fire helmet on the wall of the apparatus floor. According to his friend David Mudd, "Some of the local flock decided to nest right there. That left Captain Wilson in borrowed headgear for weeks, until his adopted family matured and flew the coop (er, helmet)."
Are Birds Good Parents?
A sure sign of spring bird nesting activity, and an easy way to locate a nest, is the sight of birds collecting grasses or carrying twigs. Once the nest is completed, eggs are laid and must be incubated. One or both parents devote days, sometimes even weeks, sitting still in order to assure warm temperatures that promote embryo development. So, are birds good parents? In general, adult birds provide just enough child-care to give offspring a reasonable chance to survive. In some species, one parent contributes nothing in order to mate with more than one partner and increase its number of offspring. For most songbirds, however, both parents share the responsibility for feeding and protecting their young until they fledge.
Ornithologists separate the developmental patterns of the young birds into two kinds: "altricial" and "precocial." Altricial species include songbirds, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, hawks and owls. They are blind and naked when they hatch, too weak to do more than open their mouths to be fed and usually remain in the nest more than two weeks as they develop. They remain dependent for several weeks after they fledge, and you may see full-sized young birds harassing and begging their parents for food. Ducks, geese, shorebirds, grouse and pheasants, some of the precocial species, are thickly covered with down and their eyes are open when they hatch. Within hours they may leave the nest. Their parents have only to lead them where they can find food, keep them warm during the first days and protect them from predators. Where precocial parents are free to travel, altricial species must be stay-at-home parents, always returning to the same spot with food. It's fascinating to consider the process that enables birds to find mates, build nests and produce offspring. Observing their success gives us the opportunity to better understand the birds in our backyards.
Entering Rehab
Beginning in the late spring, people may encounter unexpected babies in the neighborhood. In this case, we're talking about bird babies found out of their nests.
Please remember that these birds may not be orphaned or may have been abandoned for a reason. Although they look forlorn and like they haven't had a square meal in days, they probably are being attended to by the parents and are okay.
The Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary in Maryland advises that if a baby bird is without feathers and cannot move around freely, it should be put back in the nest. It is not true that if a human touches it, its mother will desert or destroy it.
If the nest has fallen to the ground, secure it in the tree or shrub. If it is destroyed, make a new one out of a margarine tub by poking a couple of holes on the bottom for rain drainage, tying three or four strings around the rim and securing it close to the original nest site. If part of the original nest is available, line the new one with it.
The federal Migratory Treaty Act of 1918 protects all birds with the exception of English sparrows, European starlings and pigeons. It was amended in 1978 to include birds of prey. The only exceptions to this rule are game birds during the various hunting seasons. Under this act, it is illegal to keep any wild bird for more than a few hours.
If you locate an injured adult bird and are not willing to walk away and let nature take its course, Laura Burford of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife urges you to take precautions for both your own safety and the bird's. No matter how small the bird, wear gloves to avoid bird lice when picking it up. If it is a bird of prey or raptor, which includes species from eagles to hawks to owls, secure the bird with a blanket or large box to protect yourself from both its beak and talons. Keep the bird in a well-ventilated box -- a pet carrier is excellent -- with a soft floor covering of newspaper or paper towels. Do not attempt to feed or water the bird.
Generally, however, most wildlife rehabilitation experts recommend that an injured bird be left alone. Check with the staff of your local Wild Bird Center store for more information.
Housing Starts
For those birds that build nests in trees and shrubs -- orioles and robins for instance, you can help their progress by putting out materials that will "feather their nests." Lay out on the tops of bushes some dog or cat fur combed from your pet or six-inch strips of cloth. Fill a small basket or clean suet cage with feathers, string, moss or packing straw -- anything you have around except dryer lint. The lint tends to absorb and hold water, which could make a nest cold and soggy, and it may contain chemicals that could irritate naked baby birds.
Several companies make a handy nesting ball that can be hung from a shepherd's hook for easy access by the birds. The natural cotton filler is a good nesting aid for the birds to use. One more Spring tip: nest boxes. For cavity-dwelling birds, including chickadees, bluebirds and woodpeckers, put up the appropriate size box without any perch outside the entrance hole. The birds don't need one and it only makes easy access for potential predators.
Watch where the birds carry their building materials so you'll be able to keep an eye on the rest of the cycle. Then you may see that "first flight," when the time comes.
How They Build a Dream House...
Even before spring gets into full swing, birds are on the hunt for the perfect nesting spot. Competition can be fierce, especially in areas where natural habitat has decreased. Each bird species tends toward a favorite location for nests. For example, mockingbirds and thrashers nest mostly in shrubs, while tanagers and vireos nest mostly on tree branches. Robins, cardinals and blue jays create their open nests as high as 20 feet off the ground; you never will find them using a birdhouse. But when you add birdhouses on your property, you provide additional nesting sites for more than 80 species of North American birds that are known as cavity nesters. These can be placed on the side of a tree, or ideally on a pole with a baffle where it's harder for predators to make a surprise attack. Many of the nest-building birds, including barn swallows and phoebes, will use a man-made nest platform. This is a simple, sturdy shelf constructed from weather-hardy wood that can be fastened in a protected spot on the side of a building or tree, preferably in view of your favorite bird-watching window. When it comes to nest construction materials, almost anything goes, from dried grass to bits of fur. You can augment the supply of nesting materials with short pieces of yarn, a ball of fuzz from your dog grooming brush or dryer lint. Make them accessible in containers such as a clean wire suet holder or bicycle basket.
Remember, if there are no breeding birds, there will be no feeding birds. Encourage your backyard feathered friends in their nest-building efforts to help ensure offspring.
Pairs Equal Full House
A nest competitor to bluebirds is the tree swallow. While this is a species that many people would like to accommodate, most don't want them nesting at the expense of bluebirds. There is a strategy that allows for both. Because of the competitive nature of birds, most species, including bluebirds and swallows, will not tolerate another pair of their own species nesting close by. But they will allow unrelated species to nest fairly close. Therefore, consider placing nest boxes in pairs -- about 30 feet apart -- rather than singly.
Even if swallows take over some bluebird houses, one nest box of each pair still should be available for bluebirds. If you live in the west, the same strategy applies, but you also contend with violet-green swallows.
Encouraging swallows and bluebirds to nest in close proximity has another advantage. Tree swallows are more aggressive than bluebirds. They will drive egg-damaging house wrens from the area, which is a benefit to both swallows and nearby bluebirds. To help with the identification of nest box occupants: bluebirds line their nests with fine grass, swallows with feathers and wrens with small twigs.
Egg Came First
The next time you peel an Easter egg, consider it not an ornament or a symbol but as the amazing organism that it is (or was, before being cooked).
All birds and most reptiles lay eggs protected by calcium-rich shells. Reptile eggshells are pliable and rubbery; bird eggshells are hard and brittle. An egg is a private oasis in which an embryo can grow, safe from the outside world. The biological significance of the egg is that it allows reptiles and birds to nest on land. Biologically speaking, that is a monumental achievement. Fish and amphibian eggs must be laid in water, or they dry up and die.
The energy parent birds invest in eggs reflects their value. Shortly before egg laying begins, hens increase their body weight by 15 to 25 percent. Males, on the other hand, lose weight defending the breeding territory and feeding their mates.
During egg laying, most birds manufacture and lay one egg per day, though larger birds such as geese, eagles and penguins require several days to make an egg. A chicken, for example, lays one egg per day.
Smaller birds invest even more in their clutches. In just seven days a chickadee, for example, can lay a seven-egg clutch that weighs about 32 percent of her body weight. This is one reason it's a good idea to keep feeding birds well into spring and summer. A dependable supply of high-energy food may help ensure successful reproduction.
The eggshell, which constitutes 11 to 15 percent of an egg's total weight, supports and protects the embryo. Hens tap calcium from their own skeleton to manufacture the shell. During incubation, the growing embryo then uses some of the calcium from the shell to build its own skeleton. And after hatching, many brooding hens eat the broken eggshells to repay their own calcium debt. Talk about reusing and recycling!
The shell also allows the embryo to "breathe." It contains thousands of microscopic pores that permit oxygen to enter the egg and carbon dioxide and water vapor to escape. A chicken egg, for example, has anywhere from 6,000 to 17,000 pores. Seal these pores by painting a living egg, and the embryo dies.
Inside the shell, egg white or albumen surrounds the yolk and the embryo. Albumen is 90 percent water; the rest is protein. It serves as the embryo's water supply, insulates the embryo from sudden temperature changes and acts as a shock absorber.
The yolk nourishes the embryo. It acts as the embryo's digestive system and eventually is absorbed into the embryo's body cavity. The extended abdomen on a newly hatched chick hides the reabsorbed yolk sac and helps sustain the chick the first few days after hatching.
Where Do Birds Nest?
Even before winter's chill fully abates, some of our backyard birds will be looking for nesting sites and building materials. You can help.
Providing birdhouses or nest boxes can attract certain birds to your yard, including tree swallows, bluebirds, house wrens, purple martins, some owls, kestrels and others.
These are some of the more than 50 species of birds called cavity nesters that adapt nicely to manmade shelters.
Some birds, such as robins, prefer a nesting shelf with an open front. Others, including the purple martins, are colony nesters. They will use a martin house comprised of several apartments or a collection of hanging gourds.
As most nesting birds also are territorial, it's best to erect just one house or nest box per species in your yard unless you live on a landed estate of many acres. One exception would be tree swallows, which will use nesting boxes as close as 30 feet apart.
It is important to use the proper size entry hole for whatever species you want to attract. It also is important to use some type of predator guard for your birdhouses.
Many birds prefer to build their own homes, and they are very good at it. If you ever have really had a close-up look at a bird's nest, you have seen the hundreds of individual pieces it took to build it.
After a bird chooses its nesting site, it must collect the construction material with which to build it. It takes endless trips over a period of a week or more to accomplish this.
Bird's intricate nests contain a great many natural things, from twigs and grasses to mosses, animal hair and fur, and mud. We can be of considerable help to our feathered friends by making available some of these materials, even a small pile of little twigs in a spot where the birds can get at them.
Some birds, like robins, swallows and thrushes, need a source of mud to hold their nests together. Providing a ready supply in a flowerpot, saucer or garbage can lid may attract these birds.
Birds are the ultimate recyclers. Some of the materials found in birds' nests include horsehair, dog fur, bits and pieces of colored paper and, in one case, a well-worn dollar bill.
The nesting materials we can provide will save many trips for the birds when they build their nests. So the next time you rake up the lawn or comb out your dog, save the twigs and hair and put it out for the birds this spring.