Purple Martin carrying leaf to nest

Purple Martins line their nests with leaves and this male is carrying a leaf to its nest in an artificial gourd at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.

String Thief

I came back from vacation to find the hummingbird feeder that hangs outside my work window on the ground. I knew the string was old so I knotted the string and re-hung the feeder. Later that day I saw something reflected in my monitor and turned around to see this…a female American Goldfinch shredding the string for nesting materials! And she could have cared less that I was watching her. By 4:30 that evening the feeder was back on the ground, so I used paperclips to hang it up again and left the string for her to do with as she pleased.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cornell Lab of Ornithology