Loving Home
These mute swans demonstrate that nesting is a partnership.
catbird eggs
we had a catbird nest for the very first time in our front hedges. we could find it easily because of the cellophane wrapper they had with it.
Blue herons building the nest
In a local heron rookery, I observed these too bickering over where to put the sticks.
Nest-building time
A Snowy Egret in breeding plumage selects a stick for the nest.
Killdeer eggs hatching
I came across a Killdeer nest just as the eggs started hatching.
Osprey pair in nest
By the side of the highway along the flooded Salmon River, a pair of Osprey guarded their nest.
Dew Drop Day
Early Morning Sunshine
Early one morning I was photographing this hummingbird nest that my family and I discovered when I saw the sun coming through the tree branches, lighting up the bird, and I captured this photo.
Peaceful Morning in the Birches
My family and I were staying on the shores of Whitefish lake and we discovered this humming bird nest and early one morning as the sun was coming up I was blessed to get this photo.
One brave bird!
This Killdeer was nesting between the railroad tracks next to a commuter train platform. I find it interesting that in a place so dangerous to humans or predatory animals she found safety for her nest. Her nest was in the open but I’m sure went unnoticed by the vast majority of people using the platform and those who may have noticed it wouldn’t dare venture close to it for fear of the rail traffic. Commuter and freight trains regularly passed virtually right over top of her.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler in it’s nest in the cavity of a tree.
Like my nest?
At Fort Scott, The Presidio, San Francisco, California, there are a number of nesting birds. None of them surprise me as much as this atypical Allen’s Hummingbird nest. It is not a cup, but a large and elaborated creation.
Calliope Hummingbirds
These two Calliope hummingbirds are ready to leave home.
Peaceful Evening With Baby
Great Egret parent and chick sharing a beautiful evening as the activities of the day at the Smith Oaks Rookery come to a close.
Duck’s Nest
three robin chicks on fledge day
according to the internet, these remaining three chicks should fledge today (one chick disappeared during the night, and found found dead beneath the nest a week later)
it looked to me more like mum was laying more eggs.
She snuggled in with her chicks and preened and poked them for quite a while – a behaviour usually only seen as darkness set in.
at any rate, by dinner time, I realized she was saying good bye and the remaining three chicks fledged at dusk.
i could hear mum in the nearby bushes calling them into safety as they fell from the nest.
(update – 6 days after fleding – i have seen at least two survivors)
four chicks – ten days old
our four Robin chicks are getting quite feisty at ten days old. Now that their eyes are open (day 6), they shriek every time they see one of the doting parents approach the nest.
they are starting to look pretty cute with lovely new feathers and chick fluff still poking through
Nest watching
watching daily for the last four days, i notice the chicks did not make a sound while begging.
(the loud begging sounds were not heard until the chick opened their eyes at about 6 days old)
hatch day – first chick – first meal
after discovering a robin nest seven days earlier, I had been eagerly checking every few hours and, the “big day” finally came and the first starving chick got its first meal. Note: at least one sibling is still waiting to hatch
blending in
snowy plover
Nothing to see here!
Decorating the Nursery
A pair of Northern Mockingbirds built this lovely nest in my neighbor’s rose bush. I’m not sure if they placed the petals in the nest or if they just fell in, but they coordinated beautifully with the pink string that the birds had woven in.
House Wren Eggs
Flycatcher eggs
Decorative Touch
A single feather placed next to the single egg, gave it a sweet decorative touch.
Rufous hummer twins
Second chick hatched on May 18, 2017. Note you can still see some of the yolk in the shell. Momma removed the shell shortly after. Also note the nest is lined with white fur from my Australian shepherds.
Nest with a View
A Rufous Hummer’s cooperatively built her nest 2′ from our front window. We discovered the nest on April 30, 2017 with one egg. The second egg was laid the next day. The chicks hatched on May 17 & 18 and successfully fledged June 7-8.
sparrow’s nest
Chipping sparrow in hidden nest in pine tree.
This chipping sparrow made a nest in the pine tree outside my front door and this was the best photo I got of her incubating the eggs. Her nest is protected by all the branches, twigs and pine needles.
Anna’s Hummingbird’s Morning Duty
Killdeer Family Home
Killdeer often select bad places to build nests. This couple built their nest in landscaping stones near a busy driveway. So far they have survived the full incubation period and the first egg has hatched. This is a point during the change of responsibility when one parent relieves the other sitting on the nest. At this point the parent that has been sitting on the nest has just stood up to leave and the arriving parent has not yet settled down over the eggs.
Morning Light
Red-breasted nuthatch in woodpecker’s hole
This nuthatch took over a nest that was originally made by a woodpecker. It’s in an old, nearly-dead apricot tree and she cleaned it up a bit and had three chicks.
Robin’s nest
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker Keeping Watch
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker at Sabine Woods near Port Arthur, Texas.
Black-throated Trogon
A Black-throated Trogon near Guapiles, Costa Rica.
Metallic Starling Guarding the Nest
There was a huge colony of Metallic Starlings in Mossman, Queensland, making a great photo opportunity.
New in the Nest
A baby Egret in a large Texas Rookery. One of the first to hatch for the season.
Brown Booby and Chick
Brown Booby keeping watch at Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef.
Eastern Bluebird Hatchling
Hatch day for this eastern bluebird. This female always has white eggs which occurs in about 4% of bluebirds. Take a peek inside this nestlings mouth and you will see insect antennae. I must have arrived for a nest check right after a feeding.
Natural Camouflage
A nest build on a service road in the park. I didn’t know anything was there until mom tried to lure me away.
Magpie robin eggs
4 magpie robin eggs in nest box
Common myan nesting
Nest and eggs of common myan in nest box
Wrens in their Nest
Our tool shed is a favorite location for the wrens to nest, and these four babies were easy to photograph, as long as I kept still when the parents entered with food. As I was getting closer to the nest, the baby birds thought I was bringing food, and I captured all four mouths open at once! Mama Wren promptly scolded me as she slipped in with their meal.
Handsome Brandt’s Cormorant and his nest
The male Brandt’s Cormorant has chosen his nest site and his flashing his blue throat to impress the ladies and ward off rivals
Eggs of Little Ringed Plover
Nest of Black-crown Night Heron
Tree Swallow chick hatching
A strong chick began hatching from one Tree Swallow egg during NestWatch check of bird box.
Homecoming
Excited young Great Blue Herons perk up as an adult comes back in to feed them.
Baby red-tailed hawk
I discovered a red-tailed hawk’s nest a few weeks before I took this photo. After visiting the nest several times I started to notice a little fuzzy creature in the nest. As the weeks progressed, I tried to photograph the chick as often as I could to document its development. The hawk’s feathers have come in and it has grown quite a bit. I’m amazed at how much it has changed in just a few months.
Marsh Wren Building a Nest
I was watching Rudy Ducks on one side when my wife saw this little guy hard a work.
Am I Pretty
A Great Egret showing off his manhood feathers to attract a female
Real Camo
Finding a bird’s nest is always a neat experience, even if it’s just a Killdeer’s. When I was trying to photograph this nest, I wanted a unique angle that illustrated the way that the eggs were able to blend in with their surroundings. Using a truck as a blind, I was able to come up on the Killdeer’s nest without disturbing them and get this photo.
Frazzled
A Tricolored Heron Making a Nest
Great White Egret with eggs
Great white Egret arranging her eggs
Wren babies
Bluebird babies
Second set of bluebird babies of the summer
Osprey refreshing the nest
Great Blue Stand Off
These Great Blue Heron couldn’t quite see eye to eye on setting up house. Hopefully they got it all worked out.
Great Blue Heron Begin Nest Building
During a Space Coast Birding festival I had the opportunity to photograph at the Viera Wetlands where these Great Blue Heron were setting up the nest
Renovatoins
While enjoying an early morning walk at Swartswood State Park, I noticed a chickadee flitting around a tree about 20 feet off the trail. I stood still for a while to watch and was rewarded by seeing a pair of black-capped chickadees working on a nest cavity in an old tree stump.
new nests
we had a severe storm which knocked down 2 barn swallow nests under our deck with days old chicks.
my husband nailed up the plastic bins and returned as much nesting material as possible. we just randomly returned the chicks and the mothers came back about 2 hours later and the fledged normally!
pair of ospreys on a nest
a pair of Ospreys on a nest
A pair of Great Blue Herons on a nest
A pair of Great Blue Herons on a nest in a rookery in Tampa Bay
Barn swallows
Barn swallows built nests under the eaves of all the picnic shelters at the Welcome Center off of I-40. These guys were keeping an eye on everyone coming and going.
Big Birds Big Nest
I’m fortunate to have an active Bald Eagle nest near our property. It has been in constant use since 2010, and this year we were blessed to have three eaglets hatch and fledge. The adult eagles are quite used to my presence, and I have a very large/long lens that I used for this photo, so I wasn’t as close as it appears from the image. I also never spend more than a few minutes in any location, so the birds do not get disturbed in any way. In fact, they often seem interested in what I’m doing!
Hatching Eastern Bluebird
While monitoring nest boxes at a local elementary school, I was just in time to document this Eastern Bluebird hatching.I sent the pictures to the principal of the school and they were put on the school’s website. I kept taking pictures and updating the school on the progress of the nestlings.One teacher who emphasizes nature in her classroom studies, brought her class out to take turns looking in the box to see the nestlings. All of them fledged. It was a great experience for the kids and teachers.
Nest within a nest
I placed a wire “bird’s nest” basket on a table on my front porch. The basket had 3 small wooden eggs in the bottom the color of robin’s eggs. A week later, a robin built a nest in the basket.
Protecting the Nest
While touring the swamps in South Carolina, I came across a rookery of little blue herons and snowy egrets. This male heron spread his wings to protect the chicks from the heat of the sun.
Building a Nest Together
I caught these cactus wrens in the process of building their spring nest in a cholla cactus.
Mourning Dove – Early Start
Piping Plover Nest
Nest Construction
Time to Leave the Nest
Two robin fledglings just before fledging
Screech Owl
This screech owl is often seen hanging out in an old Chestnut tree in her home,with nest inside, all different times of day. The tree is located in front of a lumber store office. She does not mind all the customers in and out of the office throughout the day. This year she had three babies. I took this picture in the middle of a cloudy day . I would never use a flash. I was surprised she has has eyes wide open sometimes and seems to be sleeping with them closed or half open other times
No wonder the name Northern Shoveler with a bill like that.
Female Northern Shoveler Duck dedicated to her nest.day in and day out on a patch of grass under a tree between a busy road and a pond . I travel the road multiple times daily. I never saw her off her nest , nor did I see a male around. She must have taken breaks from time to time. I was a bit surprised she chose a spot so close to a very busy road.
A nesting Baya Weaver
A juvenile Baya learning the tricks of making the magnificent nest.
Nest of a Nightjar
The Nightjar, a nocturnal bird usually nests in the ground by making a small depression and putting some dried twigs/hay around. The nest with eggs was clicked near Jamshedpur during a geological field trip.
Nest of a Spotted Dove
Nest of Spotted dove with eggs.
The Cormorant Tree
and the winner is…
Four to six clutches a year…the first to hatch is always a thrill no matter how many times it happens.
Summer Tanager with Nest Material
A female Summer Tanager with a bill full of nesting material fluttered up to her nest in a pine tree.
American Robin Babies in a nest
A Female American Robin on a nest
Use the key
American Redstart on her Nest
This female American Redstart flew into her nest as I walked past. It was below eye-level, as it was on a steep slope at the Lewis Park Overlook.
That’s not how to do it!
Male and female redstarts builfing the nest
Building the Perfect Nest
This Northern Cardinal spent days building her nest. It seemed like a well camouflaged location, but the English Sparrows swarmed in and took ownership. She didn’t go far because I see her daily feasting on blueberries.
Dream Home
Eastern Screech Owlets
I have a eastern screech owl nesting box in my backyard. I was so lucky to see the owlets for one day after they fledged. Here are the two little owlets
Dad’s turn on the nest
Male Redstart sitting on nest
A New Hope
Cryptic Chicken
Musical Nest
A House Finch constructs her nest on top of a wind chime on our front porch.
Beautiful Blue Eggs
Nesting
An American Robin sits quietly on a nest she constructed on the downspout under the eaves of our home for protection from the elements.
A most substantial nestbox
I first noticed this female Mountain Bluebird sitting atop a piece of machinery with an insect in her mouth. Realizing she was feeding nestlings, I stopped to watch where she flew to, and saw her land on this railroad car coupler (which was on a scrapped flatcar, the nest was not at risk). I noticed the strands of grass in the coupler pocket and realized she had built her nest inside this mass of iron that weighs several hundred pounds, perhaps the most substantial ‘nestbox’ ever used by a bluebird.
Nuttall’s Woodpecker Nestling Ready to Fledge
Nuttall’s Woodpecker nestling in a Yucca Palm tree in my front yard, Oakland, CA.
Photo was taken 5/25/17, the day before it fledged.
Olympus OM-D E-M10; 1/250 sec; F6.7; M-Zuiko, 300mm
Curious Nuttall’s Woodpecker Nestling
Nuttall’s Woodpecker nestling in a Yucca Palm tree in my front yard, Oakland, CA.
Photo was taken 5/25/17, the day before it fledged.
Olympus OM-D E-M10; 1/200 sec; F6.7; M-Zuiko, 300mm