Home Sweet Home

In my last blog I mentioned that everything has gone into nest building mode.

This is none more evident than in my own back garden. From my bedroom window I have a good view of a Magpie’s nest that is currently under construction. It’s a tangled mass of twigs and mud, with no rhyme or reason to its architecture. Whilst at Forest Farm Nature Reserve yesterday, I stood and watched two Magpies raid a squirrel dray for nesting material, the squirrel didn’t seem too pleased!

I have watched Blackbirds collecting beaks of mud to line and strengthen their neat cup nests. One of the best parts of autumn, is discovering all the Blackbird nests you had no idea that were lurking in the hedgerows and treetops you see regularly all summer.

My resident Robins have not set up home yet, but the pair are currently inseparable, both feeding from the same trays or on the fence where I scatter loose seed. I continue to watch them with interest.  What the robins seem to be lacking in drive for nesting, the Jackdaws are more than making up for. My patio is awash with moss that has been dropped by them when collecting it from my roof.

Last year, we had a pair of Woodpigeons nesting in a disused part of the factory where I used to work. They are the worlds laziest nest builders; it barely resembles a nest at all. Amazingly, they had two clutches in the precarious perch they decided to call home. The House Martins that used the warehouse the year before chose just a precarious perch overhanging the roller doors, but theirs is a nest of sheer majesty, made completely from mud, and glued to the wall, it was as safe as … well .. houses!

But there is one bird that constructs a nest like no other in the UK, and it must surely hold the title of Master Nest Builder. That is the Long Tailed Tit. If you see a Long Tailed Tit flying around the corners of your windows or patio doors, it isn’t looking for insect prey, it is more than likely at this time of year, looking for silken spiders’ webs to use in its nest. That is only the mortar that holds together a ball made from lichen and moss. This makes it almost invisible to predators. The nest is then lined with feathers that birds collect on the wing, making it sound like one of the snuggest places in the animal kingdom. With the nest being made from spiders’ webs, the whole ball can expand and stretch to accommodate the growing chicks inside. I’ve been watching my Long Tailed Tits collecting all the nesting material from my garden over the past few days. There are feathers blowing around from a Sparrowhawk kill a few days back, nature has been recycling way before we cottoned on to the idea! I have never seen a Long Tailed Tit nest for myself, and would love to, but I am not going looking for it in the woods, I’ll let them do the important stuff, like raising this year’s chicks, and then maybe I will stumble upon it during a walk in the autumn. Please remember, disturbing a nesting bird is a wildlife crime, and always be respectful if you do find one. It is after all, their home sweet home!

Thank you to Countrygirl from the Community Pages for allowing me to use her nest photo in this blog, you can see more of her amazing photographs in this discussion thread.