Nesting
Spring/Summer 2019
July 8 - Mourning Dove nest in White Oak tree next to our house
Since we live in the country,
surrounded by various kinds of habitats, I know that there must be
many nests all around us – in the woods, in the trees around the
gardens and house, in the fields, in eaves, tucked into all sorts of
places. Last year a Carolina Wren built a prodigious nest below
the outside of the PTAC unit, below the bay window. The year before I
found a nest of an Eastern Phoebe tucked under the overhang of the
barn. Sometimes we have muddy nests of Barn Swallows up in the barn
rafters.
This year I came upon a rabbit's next
just below the top edge of the woods, but it had already been
abandoned.
April 13
I find places in the woods where fawns
have been tucked away, as well as openings under shrubs, burrows in
the ground, holes in trees (low and high). One year I found five tiny
baby Raccoons in a low tree hole.
I know Summer Tanagers nest not far
from my house because every year the male yells about it all day,
every day, for much of the summer. I have seen both the male and
female, but have never found their nest. By the cacophony of bird
song and calls, especially in the morning, I know our area must be
laden with all sizes of nests, with various types of construction
(and, sometimes no real construction).
The Mourning Doves are always busy, and
their activity sometimes belies their nest locations. I often wonder
how so many Mourning Doves make it to adulthood when I see their
haphazard nests, sometimes perched in precarious spots. I really
don't know how they make it through storms – and we've already had
plenty of storms this year!
June 25 - Mourning Dove in her nest in the large Crabapple tree
I'm sure that, this early summer, I saw
the fledged young of the first brood from the Crabapple tree, with
fresh, pinkish feathers, exploring the world around our house, and
that Mom was working on a second brood at that same time.
And, now, the story of a new, unusual
nest for this year.
During the winter, I had hung an old
cobalt-blue teapot from a branch of the Volunteer Peach Tree (VPT),
near the edge of the Herb Garden Transformation Project (HGTP).
January 26
January 26
April 6
April 7 - A dark blue spot in a tree - the teapot
Mostly small birds came, but larger
birds, such as Cardinals and Blue Jays, would sit on an adjacent
branch and grab some seeds from the teapot. Very small birds would
often fly all the way inside, sitting on the seed, taking time,
having a feast. Sometimes one would use the teapot as shelter from
the rain.
May 1
May 1 - Gimme shelter!
I could sit on the screened porch and
watch all the coming and going.
Eventually the leaves of the VPT burst
into full size, filling in almost all the spaces, so that I could not
see even the deep blue of the teapot from the porch. But, I could
still watch birds coming and going, into and out of the tree.
May 8 - The very full VPT at the far end of the HGTP
May 8 - I challenge you to find the teapot!
And, eventually, I quit putting seed in
the teapot, and in any of the feeders. I waited until I knew there
would be plenty of insects and larvae for the birds to eat, as they
would be switching to this now available higher protein diet for the
intense energy period of defending territory, building nests, and
feeding young. And, so, the teapot hung there empty for awhile.
June 21 - Sunflowers next to the VPT
There was one opening in the leafy
branches of the VPT through which I could see the teapot. One day I
walked by and something caught my eye, because it looked different
from the usual.
June 21
Someone had been building a nest in the
teapot!! I had no idea that had been going on. The bird had very
artfully encircled the inside of the teapot “door” (the part
where, if one were using it as a teapot, one would pour in the water)
with a lovely collection of grasses, dry leaves, and seed heads.
What kind of bird would be doing this?
I posted the photos on Facebook to see if anyone knew. There were
some guesses, but nothing definitive. I started watching the teapot
more closely, to see if I could solve the mystery of Teapot Bird.
One day, I was able to see the top of
Momma Teapot Bird's head, her eyes, her beak. When she or Father
Teapot Bird flew to and from the nest, it happened so fast that I
never had a good look at the rest of their bodies. But, I had some
clues from the head. The beak was small, thin, very pointed. The head
was sort of flattish and streamlined. That ruled out some kinds of
small birds.
June 25 - There she is!
I got out my guide to birds' nests and
started looking for something that might build a nest in a place like
that, out of those kinds of materials. What I came up with was Tree
Swallow. Everything made sense, especially that they will build nests
in all sorts of birdhouses, as well as mail boxes and other
advantageous places. I realized that the many birds that line the
wires in late summer and early fall, swooping over the crop fields
catching insects, were Tree Swallows. And I had seen Tree Swallows
using Bluebird nest boxes at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve near
Chesterton, Indiana, as well as, this year, along the Clear Creek
Trail in Bloomington, Indiana.
May 15 - Tree Swallow on a Bluebird nesting box along the Clear Creek Trail, Bloomington, Indiana Look at that little
streamlined, flattish head – I'm sure it's the same thing!
Later, I stopped to look in the teapot
and, instead of an adult head, I'd see as few very tiny heads, and
even very tiny beaks sticking up.
July 8 - Barely seen Teapot Babies
July 8 - If I had a camera with a
better zoom, it would be easier for you to see the tiny head and
beaks in there.
Once in a great while I'd stop and look
again, but I wanted to disturb the birds as little as possible. I
looked from the outer edge of the VPT branches, though one time I did
step further into the branches for a closer look.
One morning I was sitting on the
screened porch, enjoying the blooming plants and the abundant bird
song – from the woods to my left, the field to my right, and the
gardens and fruit trees before me. I saw rustlings at the VPT, birds
going in and out. Then I heard what sounded to me like very excitable
sounds. I thought of what that might be about. Did another kind of
bird get too close to the nest, and the parents were chasing,
warning, scolding? Or was it another kind of bird making the excited
sounds?
The next morning I was hurrying to my
truck with just enough time to get to and appointment in town. As I
hurried past the VPT, another sight caught my eye, and I had to stop,
if just for a brief time. Three fluffy baby birds were sitting
straight up, just inside the edge of the teapot “door”, beaks all
pointed outward, watching me intently.
Unfortunately, I did not have my
camera, and I had no time to run back in to get it.
Later that day I checked again, but saw
nothing. I hoped they had just tucked themselves deep into the nest
during the heat of the day. I checked each day, different times of
day, and saw nothing. I also saw no more activity around the VPT, no
one going in and out of the branches.
Now I wonder if the ruckus I heard
previously had been the day the babies ventured out for the first
time, among the branches of the VPT. The excited calls could have
been the parent, or parents, encouraging the Teapot Babies to come
out farther, and some of it could have been the babies themselves.
And, I wondered if the next morning, when I saw them perched at the
teapot edge, was the day they truly fledged and left the nest for
good.
I wish I had been there to see that.
June 30 - The Herb Garden Transformation Project - Volunteer Peach Tree on the far left
