Winter Nesting

I became interested in nests when I went for a walk at Kelly Island and one of us spotted a robin pair feeding their chicks. Recently, I went for a hike on the road at Rock Creek and ran into a few dozen nests. Nesting is when you start looking for nests. We started nesting in the winter because there are less birds and no leaves so it’s pretty easy to find them. My favorite part about nesting is finding nests that we had passed on the way there! 

                 

Some of the nests are weather worn but I can still see that some of them are made of grass or moss. Nests that have not been affected by weather are made of sticks and sometimes bits of moss. I think that sticks make a tougher nest. Up Rock Creek the birds that build nests out of twigs are the Bald Eagle, Osprey and Robin. I can’t wait for the robins to come back! 

 The nests I’ve found are in the trees, bushes and undergrowth. They are made of  moss, sticks, grass and sometimes a mix of moss, sticks and grass. Do not keep nests because they are reused and because it’s illegal!  I noticed that the nests I see are different. Some are shallow, others are deep. Some are big, others are small. In the spring I will participate in the Nest Watch Citizen Science Project where you record robin nests. When we went to the Kim Williams trail Papa said we could mark the nests on OnX Maps so we can find them in the spring.