By Staff
Questions, questions, questions. I want to know who, what, where, when, why and if this isn't enough, lastly how.
Today I want to talk about where a specific bird builds its nest.
Let's delve into this one, shall we?
First, the American goldfinch, in leafy bushes and trees, from four to 20 feet high.
Bald eagle, enormous aerie, actually a record was set by one in Vermillion, Ohio.
Its nest was 12 feet deep, 8 1/2 feet in diameter and weighed two tons. Wow! What a nest. Usually built in the fork of a very large tree.
Black-capped chickadee, can excavate a cavity in a well-rotted tree or use an existing hole or birdhouse (this tiny bird isn't picky).
Blue jay, a careless, messy-looking mass, 10 to 15 feet, somewhere in the crotch of a tree or in shrubs. Can be as high as 50 feet off the ground.
Brown thrasher, ground nester, and they must have a new mate for their second brood.
Cedar waxwing, in orchards, pines, brushy borders, on a horizontal branch, four to 50 feet up from the ground.
Dark-eyed junco, bulky nest, on ground, builds an entirely new nest for second brood.
European starling, will commandeer tree cavities or birdhouses, two to 60 feet high.
Fox sparrow, may nest on ground or up to 12 feet high in a bush or tree.
Gray catbird, nesting in briars. May use the same nest for second and third broods.
Great horned owl, in deserted hawk's or crow's nest, or lays eggs on the ground amidst old bones, skulls, fur, etc., deep woods.
House finch, will nest anywhere, especially in a hanging basket.
House sparrow, will commandeer any bird boxes.
Killdeer, nests in open, on ground, on roofs, on pebbles, wood chips, grass.
Mourning dove, flat nest in tree, shrub, cactus or on ground, three to 30 feet up.
Northern cardinal, in dense shrubbery or branches of small tree, eight feet off the ground.
Pine siskin, conceals its nest in an evergeen, three to 50 feet high.
Purple finch, prefers evergreens, five to 60 feet high.
Purple martins, dense colonies, 15 to 20 feet high, will even nest as low as nine feet.
Red-tailed hawk, on rock ledges, in well-constructed nests, up high in trees in a wooded area, may use same nest repeatedly.
Robins, nesting on platforms, nesting on and around the house and in evergreens and trees.
Rose-breasted grosbeak, prefers a fork in a tree, five to 25 feet off the ground.
Scarlet tanger, small, flimsy, cup-shared nest, five to 75 feet high in a tree. Preferably on an oak limb.
Tufted titmouse, in tree cavities or in a birdhouse.
Turkey, ground nester.
White-crowned sparrow, ground nester, in places we probably might walk by daily like a strawberry patch, a bed of mint or in amongst a thick groundcover.
There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.