I put up a platform for nesting on a gutter section under an eve and invited anyone/everyone to build a nest. Nope. Third spring and still waiting.
Gotta Love Those Birds Nests
- Thread starter Warstud
- Start date
twouvakind
Site Donor 2024
Small brain, bird brain.
I always keep an eye out under my front and back patio for birds trying to build nests. We had a Robin trying to build a nest on top of our porch light several weeks back, but I kept knocking it down before it got built and it eventually gave up and moved on.
The funny thing is, it would put a load of dried-up grass and weeds with the occasional straw wrapper or something similar in there, and 90% of what it put there would fall onto the patio. I mean it was working itself to death and not really making any headway in making a nest and then I would come along and knock down what very little it had managed to get to stay there.
The funny thing is, it would put a load of dried-up grass and weeds with the occasional straw wrapper or something similar in there, and 90% of what it put there would fall onto the patio. I mean it was working itself to death and not really making any headway in making a nest and then I would come along and knock down what very little it had managed to get to stay there.
There's nothing weak about being a decent human being and allowing things to live their life, especially if they're no threat to you. I have seen people go out of their way to kill a snake, spider, insect, or whatever, and it makes no sense to me.
Outside of hunting or fishing where the meat is actually eaten, or in my case, battling something like fire ants which are a threat, especially to toddlers playing in the yard, I subscribe to the live and let live ideology.
All Louisiana readers eyes opened up a little wider with that statement.
....THICK you say?....
The current economic situation may change my retirement plans:
Plan D: Move to Nebraska and take up Yah-Tah-Hey's offer.
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- Dec 30, 2006
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They're beautiful!never seen them in my life...really like to see them in real life
It's been a pretty good spring for birds here, but none have tried to nest on the house. Chickadees in a nest box, song sparrows in a bush, mockingbirds in a tree, and Carolina wrens somewhere, all fledged in the last week. There's lots of robin, cardinal, house finch, and catbird activity, so I suspect more nests nearby.
Funny how that works. I'll let the Robins around my house know, but they're probably too busy trying to vandalize my gutter spikes to move to your place. They need to migrate away from my house.
We had a full-on nature show outside our back window for the last two years with a pair of robins on top of this post on the arbor. Had to take it down this winter to stain the arbor, and they have not returned. Maybe they're ticked off at us
It's not great for the wood, but I couldn't bear to disturb those babies. It's all stained and ready for them now, not worried about damage after a coat of Valspar's finest.
It's not great for the wood, but I couldn't bear to disturb those babies. It's all stained and ready for them now, not worried about damage after a coat of Valspar's finest.
Though I live in a region that is either urbanized or almost entirely farmland, I am within spitting distance of what is very likely the last (almost) untouched virgin forest anywhere near here. It is a wonder to behold, and more so because 300 years ago it was all like this. Every spring, bird watchers come here from far away to see creatures that can't be viewed in many other places.
Bring your camera...bring your walking stick...bring your horse. There are charges for rental housing and camping otherwise.... the Metroparks are free.
Bring your camera...bring your walking stick...bring your horse. There are charges for rental housing and camping otherwise.... the Metroparks are free.
Robins build a nest on my the outdoor light fixture under my deck. They don't reuse the old nest. There was a triple decker nest last year that I had to remove when I replaced the light fixture. The new fixture had only one nest but the wind or something knocked it off the light fixture and down to the ground.
I made the mistake of moving a nest too soon and a robin would sit and peck and attack my window all day. He's leave for the winter and return in the spring. This vengeance went on for 3 years. The last year he was looking old and gray. He didn't return the next spring.
My ex wife back when we were married found a baby robin on the ground after crows attacked the nest and ate the nest mates. She raised the bird in our house and fed it a few times a day. Named it "Gary". It got pretty big and started to fly around the bedroom where we kept it. One day it was pretty big and we decided it was time to let Gary loose in the world. I drove Gary to a local fishing spot where I fished before and noticed there were a lot of robins. Wife was too emotionally upset so I took Gary myself to the fishing spot. Gary hung around me a few minutes outside but then took flight and flew into a tree about 100 yds away. I went fishing and thought that was that. However, my ex wanted to visit Gary so a week later I took her to my fishing spot. People are walking about. I'm heading fishing. Ex wife is calling out for Gary and holding her arm out. I can't imagine what the people in the park thought when a robin flew out of a tree and landed on her finger.
I made the mistake of moving a nest too soon and a robin would sit and peck and attack my window all day. He's leave for the winter and return in the spring. This vengeance went on for 3 years. The last year he was looking old and gray. He didn't return the next spring.
My ex wife back when we were married found a baby robin on the ground after crows attacked the nest and ate the nest mates. She raised the bird in our house and fed it a few times a day. Named it "Gary". It got pretty big and started to fly around the bedroom where we kept it. One day it was pretty big and we decided it was time to let Gary loose in the world. I drove Gary to a local fishing spot where I fished before and noticed there were a lot of robins. Wife was too emotionally upset so I took Gary myself to the fishing spot. Gary hung around me a few minutes outside but then took flight and flew into a tree about 100 yds away. I went fishing and thought that was that. However, my ex wanted to visit Gary so a week later I took her to my fishing spot. People are walking about. I'm heading fishing. Ex wife is calling out for Gary and holding her arm out. I can't imagine what the people in the park thought when a robin flew out of a tree and landed on her finger.
Heck of a story....that made my day
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We have a covered back porch that has seen many bird nests. There is one that I forgot to knock down last Fall. A Mourning Dove took up residence recently and hatched two offspring. They were recently gone and before I had a chance to remove the nest, another Dove took over the nest and is currently on eggs. If I recall, the Doves are one of the few breeds that have two broods a year. Good thing as I know they were the most hunted bird species in N. America. I used to hunt them as a younger man mostly in Sept. They come under federal migratory bird seasons and require a "duck stamp" to hunt.
I live on a stream and around wetlands. We always had a large year-round population of all sorts of birds including various ducks, woodpeckers and geese. I would estimate that it has dropped off 70% in the past 15 years. We once had a group of eight red-bellied Woodpeckers until some black vultures came around and wiped them out. Many species, especially the Winter birds are not seen anymore. We had a large summer population of Robins at one time. Every year, a group of crows and sometimes Ravens would show up and raid the nests. There's only been one pair for the past couple of years. I witnessed a red-winged blackbird come to the rescue of a group of nesting catbirds during a Raven attack. I also saw the same bird get in the face of Redtail hawks and our local Eagle. Fearless little guys and very territorial.
I live on a stream and around wetlands. We always had a large year-round population of all sorts of birds including various ducks, woodpeckers and geese. I would estimate that it has dropped off 70% in the past 15 years. We once had a group of eight red-bellied Woodpeckers until some black vultures came around and wiped them out. Many species, especially the Winter birds are not seen anymore. We had a large summer population of Robins at one time. Every year, a group of crows and sometimes Ravens would show up and raid the nests. There's only been one pair for the past couple of years. I witnessed a red-winged blackbird come to the rescue of a group of nesting catbirds during a Raven attack. I also saw the same bird get in the face of Redtail hawks and our local Eagle. Fearless little guys and very territorial.
How did vultures wipe out the woodpeckers?
We'll take em. Also could use anyone with talent looking to move. But be warned, our property taxes are out of this world.
Opened my office door to enjoy the cool, crisp post-rain morning and watch the robin looking for worms. Hmmmm, I see that some posts have been removed. LOL, APHIS and the FBI are already on the lookout in Louisiana.
