Are you watching nests? Take photos and win prizes! For the month of July, enter your photos of nests here for chances to win. Entering is easy, just upload one or more photos of the nesting cycle to any or all of these categories, including Beautiful Eggs, Cutest Baby, Feeding Time, and Best Nest! And while you’re taking photos, become an official NestWatcher and record what you’re seeing in our scientific database! Contest starts July 1!
There will be prizes awarded to the entry with the highest vote in each category along with a first and second overall prize. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the contest period (August 1st).
Kim Caruso
Plum Island, Essex County, MA, United States
Young chick testing out the wings
Sheri Douse
Titusville, FL, United States
Every year this White-Eyed Vireo builds a nest in an orange tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge visitor center. The first time I was able to come across the nest was on my birthday. Finding it was more impressive since the nest was very small and the bird chose the very tip of the branch to build on. I was so excited to experience seeing the Vireo on the nest and even got to see the eggs hatch, along with both parents coming back and forth to feed the young ones. This is one of my favorite photos taken of the Vireo in the nest 🙂
David Magers
Clarksville, TN, United States
Carlos Porrata
Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, CA, United States
Laurence Sloma
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, North Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ, United States
Danny Pickens
Tyler, Texas, United States
Just fledged robin.
Leslie Clapp
Blue Hill, ME, United States
Waiting for dinner to be delivered the day before fledging.
Laura Zebehazy
Volente, TX, United States
While checking nest boxes, I flushed a chuck-will’s-widow off these two eggs. The bird flew off doing the broken-wing display.
Douglas Vogt
Forest Hills, MI, United States
After building a nest in my garden and not having her eggs hatch the mother built a second nest in my grape vines. I didn’t find it until she’d laid three eggs, which all hatched in the last two days. I’ve been growing the grape vines for 4 years and this year was going to be my “crop” year, however with the nest I can’t really get close and I certainly couldn’t spray the vines insects, etc. The crop is pretty well half destroyed by bugs / black rot, but the bird family is doing just fine.
Beth Galligan
Manhattan, KS, United States
There was a mixed Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow colony in a picnic shelter. These guys grew up between 2 Cliff Swallow nests.
Deanna Broderick
Guilford, CT, United States
3 American Oyster Catcher Eggs
Kathryn Young
Los Angeles, CA, United States
This mother began building her nest in January 2014 on a bamboo branch outside my bedroom window. I watched her raise her first clutch of two followed immediately by a second clutch of one. LA hummingbirds are very fond of the vibrant purple trumpet-shaped flowers on the vines covering the metal fence perimeter, which made it at attractive, yet protected, location for a nest.
Linda Bowers
Hilton, NY, United States
Robin’s eggs laid in a bush near my front porch.
Barry Kant
Presqu\'ile Provincial Park, Brighton, ON, Canada
Completed Baltimore Oriole nest in the trees around the lighthouse in Presqu’ile Provincial Park.
Bob Gunderson
Pine Flat Road, Healdsburg, CA, United States
The parents came to feed the two youngsters about once every hour. The young fledged about ten days after this photo was taken.
David Peller
Machiasport, ME, United States
Kim Caruso
Plum Island, Essex County, MA, United States
Once chicks hatch, the nest is wherever mom is! The chicks nestle under her for warmth, the off again to explore and find bugs to eat
Elizabeth McWilliams
Evansville, IN, United States
This spring I was fortunate enough to watch a Brown Thrasher family in a local Master Gardener public garden. I first notice two fledglings in the undergrowth and one of them seem to be very interest in me. A few minutes later, the fledgling flew up to a branch in a small ornamental tree and one of the parents joined it. The dappled light through the young leaves gave me enough light to get this photo. If you look closely, you will see some type of insect in the parent’s mouth. The parent flew off and the fledgling hopped around the tree limbs and would check me out every time he moved. I was sitting on a bench about twelve feet away. I think we both enjoyed the moment.
Bill Kracov
Indian Shores, FL, United States
Taken at a Skimmer’s colony on the beach.
Toni Pulvermacher
Springfield Corners, WI, United States
Came home to find on our pond that a mother Hooded merganser duck was raising this mixed family. 7 ducklings are wood ducklings and 4 are Hooded merganser ducklings. They are so cute.
Pamela Hawken
Sonoma, CA, United States
This little baby was in a nest in a wine barrel at a local elementary school right near the classrooms. I went by to check if the babies had fledged for three days, and on the third day, this little one and four others were flying and hopping all over. I used my 300 mm. zoom lens and took this photo while he rested on a rock. I think the few down feathers still on his head make him look especially cute.