Monday, April 25, 2011

very close neighbors


We came home from church Easter morning, and noticed this nest up on our drainpipe near the back door. It couldn't have been there Saturday - it was raining hard and blowing all day.  Somebody was working hard to build this nest, fast!



They left some of their building material hanging on the clothesline.

We wondered all day what kind of birds were going to be nesting there. It didn't look very large.
Later on I went out again, reached my arm up high, and tried to get a different view of it  -


It didn't look like anything was inside yet.

This morning I let Henry out to a flutter of wings, and I saw a robin fly over to a nearby tree. So! It's a robin's nest. And it's bigger now - they've built up the upper part with some muddy-looking stuff.

I don't know how long this takes, but I think we'll going to be using the front door exclusively pretty soon!

8 comments:

  1. We have a robin building a nest in a rhododendron bush by the side of our house. My husband keeps hearing it tapping at the basement window. I think it sees its reflection. So now we have chicken wire covering the basement window. But no more pecking. Yay!

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  2. Yes - you don't want them wasting their nest-building time pecking at the window!!

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  3. Robin's eggs are just the prettiest! We had a little Wren build her nest in a hanging basket right by our front door and watching those eggs was a wonderful event for us. They hatched and then the babies flew away - we loved the whole process!

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  4. Oh, I love wrens - they're the cutest birds.

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  5. Oh, what a treat! I love finding bird nests! :)

    One of my great-grandmothers had really long hair she would always put up in a braid, and she would brush it and work on it outside when the weather was good so the birds could use any hairs that floated away on the wind for their nests. So, when she and my great-grandfather would find bird nests, they would sometimes find Great-Grandma's hair twisted into the other building materials. :) I love that the birds left some of their material on your clothesline. It's really amazing to me how they put their nests together--so quickly, yes, but with whatever they can find and know will work.

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  6. I hadn't realized they worked so fast!

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  7. I guess they have to know how to, to prepare for sudden storms and to protect themselves. It is amazing. :)

    And I just caught your gnocchi question. I make mine with potato--just potato, flour, and salt, and sometimes I add an egg. I'd never heard of cornmeal ones. We have no counter space here--just the small drainboard beside the sink--that it's a hassle to make them here, but we both love them, so every now and then, I go ahead. :)

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  8. What a treat! I love Robins, and their beautiful blue eggs. Hope you get a glimpse of them as well.

    Blessings, Debbie

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