Despite our cool spring, the birds are building nests. As I eat breakfast, I can hear birds twittering outside the kitchen window.
The strangest bird nest I ever saw was on the balcony of the penthouse at 33 River Street. A pigeon had arranged a complete circle of roofing nails with the heads out around the circumference of the circle. Pigeons are famous for building rather rudimentary nests. They might throw down a few sticks and call it a nest. But this pigeon was obviously meticulous.
Most birds (other than pigeons) will build their nests with some combination of sticks, leaves, mud, moss, grass, feathers, bark, and plant fibre. The nest is usually built with the coarse material on the outside and progressively finer material toward the inside or lining of the nest.
Occasionally, bird nests incorporate non-natural materials, such as wire, plastic, and synthetic fibres. It could be the availability of these objects that is responsible for their use, but sometimes the nest builder’s preference in materials appears to be decorative rather than functional.
A Facebook post from Ontario shows various nests that incorporated unusual material: a snake skin, strips of newspaper, and hair. I have heard of a crow’s nest that was a glitter with tinfoil.
Another Facebook post shows a Northern Mockingbird nest constructed mainly from natural materials, but the rim of the nest was lined with cigarette butts. Research indicates cigarette butts repel parasites such as mites and ticks. The nicotine present in cigarette butts acts as an insecticide. In addition, the fibrous parts of the cigarette filters provide some insulation for the nest.
According to the Birdwatching website, an abandoned jacket left hanging in the woods became the perfect nesting site for a small bird. A deep jacket pocket provided excellent shelter from predators and the elements.
Some birds use ordinary materials, but in an unusual way. The Tailorbird sews leaves together to make a nest. The female Tailorbird collects strong, supple leaves that will provide a solid foundation for her bag-like nest. She makes sure the leaf is the right size by wrapping it around herself. She uses her beak to make a series of tiny holes along the edge of the leaf, then threads plant fibre through the holes to connect more leaves together until her nest is complete. She even builds a roof over the nest to keep it dry.
Bird’s Nest Soup is a delicacy in Southwest Asia. The soup is made with the nests of birds called swiftlets who use their own hardened saliva to build their nests. Swiftlets deposit layers of spit on rocks deep in caves to make their unusual nests. In areas where bird’s nest soup is popular, people have created multi-storied houses for swiftlets to nest in so as to easily obtain their spit nests. The estimated 30,000 swiftlet houses harvested in Malaysia make up $400 million of the national economy.
Hummingbirds and kinglets may hold their tiny nest together using spider webs. The spider silk is lightweight, strong, and sticky, making it the perfect glue for tiny nests.
Incredibly, birds have been spotted nesting inside string mops left outdoors. The tangled strands of a mop provide excellent material for a nest.
Swallows like to build their mud nest on top of architectural features such as an outdoor porch light. One homeowner found a nest full of chirping birds atop the security camera. It gives a whole new meaning to birdwatching!
