Summer’s hidden nests appear in winter
Creatures create some architectural wonders of nature
Just outside my home-office window, I noticed a bird’s nest about 4 feet high in some leafless shrubbery on a cold, winter’s day. I had not seen the nest in summer when it was hidden by green vegetation, but now it’s in full view, a woven cup of twigs topped with snow. Its dimensions, location and materials indicated it was likely a northern cardinal nest.
This is a great time of year to look for bird nests in your yard or neighborhood. Finding one can give you an idea of where birds might nest near your home. It’s an amazing experience to think about the work that goes into making these architectural wonders of nature.
Some nests, like those of the mourning dove, are long gone on a cold, wintry day. The mourning dove builds a rather flimsy nest of sticks, with little to no lining, placing it in an evergreen, or small deciduous tree just about anywhere. Soon after the young fledge, the nest falls apart.
The American robin builds a mud-based nest, in which it tucks vegetation. The nest can last for several years depending on where it’s at. I discovered a robin nest above a light fixture on a Park District building several years ago. The robin raised young there and left. The nest is still there, intact.
A mouse is likely using it for a roosting spot in winter.
Robins build nests 6 to 12 feet high on a horizontal branch in a tree or shrub, as well as in eaves, gutters and light fixtures. The female carries mud with her bill to the nest site and as it forms, she sits on it, molding it to the shape of her body and adding vegetation delivered by the male. Biologists estimate a robin uses roughly 350 pieces of dried grass and twigs to build the nest. After a good rain, she’ll gather mud, making as many as 200 or more trips back and forth to the nest to fasten it. The mud holds the 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide nest together as if it were cement. The fact that it’s not too high and sturdy makes it easy to find in winter. The same is true for the cardinal nest.
On a recent morning, a male cardinal was perched beneath the nest outside my window. His being there likely had nothing to do with the nest. Just like the robin and other songbirds, cardinals don’t reuse nests. They need freshly built, sturdy homes for their nestlings each season. A female cardinal typically builds a home for her young 3-15 feet high in a shrub such as dogwood or hawthorn, a tangle of briars, a small conifer such as a spruce, or deciduous tree such as an elm. She builds an open cup of twigs, bark strips, grasses and other vegetation, then lines it with softer materials, including hair or fur from an animal and pine needles. The male brings nesting material to the female while she builds. She often crushes twigs with her beak to soften them and make them more flexible. When she’s done in three to nine days, the nest is about 3 inches tall and 4 inches wide. Seeing the nest topped with snow in winter is a signal of nature’s impermanence, as well as its tenacity.
Venture farther afield in winter and you might discover an American goldfinch nest. The tiny, compact cup nest is about 2 inches tall and 2 inches wide.
The female places the nest about 4-14 feet above ground among scattered trees in overgrown fields. She weaves fine pieces of vegetation and lines the nest with thistle and cattail down. If you know where there’s a thistle field, you might find a goldfinch nest somewhere in a tree this time of year. Look for a soft, nest with thistle down, placed where two or three vertical branches meet.
You might see some large nests made of dried leaves in tall trees while walking outdoors. Those aren’t bird nests. They are squirrel nests, built in winter for roosting when it’s cold. Birds don’t sleep in nests during winter, but rather roost in warm places within shrubs, trees and other vegetation. They find tree hollows and other cavities as well. As the leave begin to unfurl in spring, cardinals and robins will be gathering materials to build their summer estates, perfectly sculpted to raise a family.