Not the kind of nesting time which keeps us indoors, snuggled with hot cups of tea, burrowed into our favorite blankies, and sitting in front of the fire. I'm talking about real nesting time: Nest Searching Time. Around here we adore bird's nests and we are entering into the most delightful time of the year for finding and retrieving them.
Just the other day as we were running some errands the children and I were discussing the signs of fall all around us. Then I added (for the three-year-old's benefit), "Soon all the leaves will be gone from the trees and..." A child who thought I might be sad at the loss of the leaves, the one who always looks on the bright side of things said, "Yes, but Mom then we will be able to see all those nests!" Yes, my dear boy, we'll be able to see many of those nature-crafted treasures. And perhaps add one or two to our nest collection. You see, it is important to preserve these little creations.
My dear husband gifted me with the above nest display case a couple of years ago and it is hanging in our front door entry way. There are spaces yet to fill, and it's a joy to take our time in filling them. Several months ago when we prepared to relocate to our current home, I packed these precious nests and all of the rest of our nature collection myself, too anxious to entrust them to the relocation company packers.
Nests can be found elsewhere in the house, though not in a place that two curious cats can get to. So up on the mantle or in a different display case they go.
I've not been able to identify all of the nests we have, unless I'm fortunate to have seen the parent birds tending to their young in the spring or summer. I have the Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Bird Nests to help, but honestly, unless I see the parents coming and going, I find it nearly impossible to accurately identify the nest.
My son was able to retrieve the nest of a Northern Waterthrush which had been built in the roots of an upturned tree next to our creek. This was a special surprise for me as we had this summer been observing the Northern Waterthrushes darting in and out of the roots. The first time I saw this I immediately ran up the hill to the house and grabbed my bird identification guide and announced enthusiastically to the children that the Northern Waterthrush's habitat included creeksides and moist woods, and that it did build its nest frequently in the roots of upturned trees. The bird also displayed a curious tail/back-end "bob" (that's what I would call it) which one of the guides describes as "pumping rearparts" (LOL!). It did this bob as it hopped from rock to rock in the creek. I laughed out loud as I had never seen this kind of bird behavior. And now, long after those baby waterthrushes have fledged, we have added the nest to our collection.
