I have no idea who built this little home, but it's firmly attached to a branch of the horrible Autumn Olive.
The whole thing was only about 2.5 inches across. Seemed a bit large for a hummingbird, but definitely had to belong to a very small bird. I love how tightly it's woven into the foliage.
I carefully pulled the branch down to take a peek. The nest was empty, and judging from the hole in the far side, abandoned. The birds probably already hatched and fledged. I think it's adorable! I really need to get that field guide for bird's nests.
Maybe one of you real birder readers will know who lived here. I've added a closeup of the "cord" that holds the nest to the branch, in case that will help with the ID.
See Bird's Nests and Soup |
10 comments:
Wow, that's tiny. I'd love to see the bird that built it.
I'm just a birder wannabe :) I love finding nests though. It's amazing how they build them
It looks like it has been attached by plastic twine. Has it? Or are my eyes deceiving me?
I also thought that looked like plastic. Either way, a very neat little nest!
Hummingbird nests are usually 1.5 inches or about the size of a walnut.
Yet this nest does look like one. Hummers use spider webs to glue and attach the nest. I'm guessing that the "strings" are spider webs. Maybe this is a stretched Hummer nest???
Maybe someone else will know the ID for sure.
Neat find!
How clever of the nest builder! It looks very well made. And cozy too.
John- Me too! Maybe someone will figure it out.
Ann- this was a great find for me, but I really want to know who made it!
John- I added a closeup of that "lacing"- see the comment from Jean. But the size is too big.
John- In closeup, it looks more organic, but it certainly does look "sewed."
Jean- I think you are right about the "lacings"-- I added a closeup. But this was much larger than any hummingbird nest I've seen, and we only have the one kind of hummer here, the rubythroat
Ivy- I bet you are having lots of motherbird, cozy nest thoughts these days, so we will trust you to really know!
That is so amazing, to me. I've seldom seen a bird's nest up close and personal. Birds are incredible!
I asked my resident bird expert (Gail Birdtale) to figure it out, and she had the answer in about two minutes. It's a Red-eyed Vireo nest!
Carmen- that's sad! Don't you find some in bushes near you?
Ferd- Oh, oh, OH! Gail is my hero! That makes perfect sense- right size, right habitat. Friends keep trying to teach me the vireo song, but I'm a slow learner on audio things.
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