#nest building

[chasingrainbowsforever]

~ Yellow and Gray ~

[geopsych]

It's just an American robin but it looked so pleased to have that leaf for its nest.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

“Nest building”

“The two-colored mason-bee (Osmia bicolor) is a solitary bee species that nests in empty snail shells. After mating, the female bees search for suitable empty shells, which they then provision with masticated pollen and nectar. After laying eggs on the provision balls, the bees seal the shells and camouflage them with plant material. This bee is gathering dry twigs to cover her nest – ‘the more, the better', she seems to think, flying back and forth to accumulate an impressive pile.”

by Solvin Zankl (Germany).

2023 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

[admiralgiggles]

I think I’m going to be an auntie again!!!

I’d really like to know where she acquired all those zip ties.

And finally, a gratuitous floof shot.

Through all the garbage, life finds a way.

[alcnfr]

A Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) gathering nesting material from the front porch Welcome mat, which she is more than welcome to do...

[brooklynbridgebirds]

Gettin' muddy! Barn Swallow in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 2 spiral tide pool. Look for these summer nesters gathering mud in their bills at low tide!

[redrcs]

Brown Backed Honeyeaters building a nest, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham.

On my travels.

[animalsandanimals]

A Jackdaw, pictured with rocks in its mouth, ready to deposit into a nest it was building in Bushy Park, London. Jackdaws are highly intelligent and adaptable. Entry, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Natural History Museum, London.

Photo by Samual Stone

[parakavka]

(2) 柴犬おだし on X: "今日は木くずを運びました https://t.co/O9s7oSKGFJ" / X

[rattyexplores]

Ant Nest in the Making

Unidentified, subgenus Crematogaster

22/03/23

[serenityflux]

I've taken to turning my bed into a nest lately and it's genuinely very comfortable! Piling up clothes and plushies and using blankets to hold it all together, surrounded by soft fabrics and comforting scents. Highly recommend

[quinnfrankephotography]

Some scenes from my walk this morning. It was pretty warm. I drank a lot of water.

[geopsych]

And since it is nesting time, here’s a male Baltimore oriole gathering nesting material and putting it in his hanging nest which is in a small tree by the lake. I’ve always read about orioles’ cool hanging nests but never got to watch one being built. This was a treat.

[flock-talk]

hello! I don't know much at all about bird behavior and have really enjoyed getting to know your boys since following. Question for ya, when Toto offers Newt a Stick (TM), is it an offering of like, hey, let's build a nest? Or is it more like how those penguins do that little rock offering, a method to prove they're a good mate choice by showing them a really good rock or stick they found? Is it driven by hormones and something to potentially watch out for, or mostly harmless bonding behavior? Just curious! I really love the detail you'll go to in posts to describe what's going on between them, it's super neat to see and really makes me appreciate the level of thought that goes into avian care.

So im very new to quakers so I truthfully cannot say for certain, it'll be something I need a lot more actual research points on and significantly more reading to be certain!

As I currently understand it Quakers do not seem to present gifts to woo a mate like penguins with their pebbles. Bringing Newt a stick in Toto's case seems to be a bit of flustered confusion, Toto wants to make a nest, has tried to assemble one in various locations, and if you watch him when he grabs a stick he almost runs around frantically like "omg i got a stick where do i put it oh god where do i go, hey NEWT i got a STICK where do i put it where does this go oh god oh no oh stick oh it FELL OH NO". He may be seeking Newt's input on a nesting location meanwhile Newt is just "idk man find a hollow tree, tf you doing".

For quakers nest building is not exclusively a mate-specific behaviour. Not only are they the only known parrot species to actually make nests (most parrots sleep in hollowed out trees) but they create an apartment complex for their flock of up to 50 birds. Their nests are massive elaborate structures comprised of different rooms and openings, usually each mated pair builds their own 'room' and the nests gradually converge in to one massive structure. All the birds maintain it, clean it, and repair it. It's a big little birdy community!

These nests are not exclusively for the purpose of breeding like most nests are but they are also used just as living spaces which makes this nesting behaviour more complicated. There's every possibility that Toto's nest building could be an independent behaviour outside of hormonal influences. That being said Toto is absolutely a horny little man right now and his nest building has a very high chance of being fuelled by that.

I would really love if this behaviour ended up being more platonic in nature, i think watching the little Tustard Man successfully assemble the nest would be an incredible thing to see! But I am pretty confident that when spring passes so too will his nesting urge. I'm not presently discouraging it as he is not showing any problematic behaviours as a result (no aggression, territorial behaviours, or otherwise massively excessive and unhealthy repercussions), it could very well be viewed as an enriching natural activity and so long as it isn't damaging his health there's no harm in allowing him to do so. He's also failing miserably at making a nest so he's not getting very far

But that being said if he were to start shifting towards more unhealthy behaviours I would absolutely start to discourage this until his hormones settle.

[alcnfr]

There's a set of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) again hauling nesting material into the always active birdhouse...

[honeycombhank]

It’s that time again! Nest building time!

Clean cages and someone is ready for construction.