A2Z 2025 — Day 14 — Nests

Robin Nest

There used to be a robin’s nest under the top board of an old section of fencing until the board fell.  I haven’t seen robin nests in the yard since then.  

 

 

Wren Nest
Out back there is a mass of wild rose bramble.  One year birds (wrens) made a nest in it.  Good protection for the babies.

 

 

Paper Wasp Nests
There have been multiple paper wasp nests in the yard since 2011.  Most of the time they are high up.  One was in the pear tree.  One was in that same rose bramble another year.  One was on the side of one of the outbuildings.  I’ve never been bothered by them, even though I drove the riding mower right under one (before I knew it was there!)

basketball-sized paper wasp nest  (the one I drove under)

 

not seen until the following spring.  How could I have missed it?

 

Ground Bird Nest
I never actually saw the nest, but this bird had one in the corner of the yard, in the undergrowth.  Only saw her one season.

I went to check out the maple tree I planted by the property line in the corner of the yard, and this plover scared the living … out of me when made her distress call. She acted injured and kept falling over. At first I was convinced she was either injured or poisoned and started crying. I ran back to the house and got a dish of water and the corner of a suet cake and brought them to her. Google is my best friend and reminded me that nesting birds feign injury to lead away from their nest. I’m sure her nest has to be near by.

 

Squirrel Nest
Squirrels sleep in tall trees
Rocked with winter’s lullaby
Warm dreams of summer

 

Have you had any critter nests in your yard?

24 Comments Add yours

  1. randydafoe's avatar randydafoe says:

    That’s quite the variety of nests. That last bird looks like what we call a Killdeer in these parts. They used to be everywhere and I miss their distinctive call. But urban sprawl has made them one of the many victims.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Randy that was the first one seen here in the yard. We saw one down at the veteran’s park recently and was surprised by it. Humans think nothing of wiping out their ecosystems. Makes me sick.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I love all these different nests 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      They are pretty amazing aren’t they.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    During my Kansas years, we had nesting birds in the corner of our porch. We chose to give up use of our porch swing for a few weeks to let Mama bird get her babies off to a good start undisturbed. @samanthabwriter from Balancing Act

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Awww, Samantha, you are your family are to commended for doing that.

      Like

  4. Birds nest are fascinating, there is something both fragile and safe about them. Funny, the Robin’s nest triggered some song lyrics in my mind: “your eyes were bluer then Robin’s eggs”, now I have that song in my head, which is nice (Diamond and Rust, Joan Baez).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Gunilla, yes they are. Robin’s eggs are such a pretty blue aren’t they.

      Like

  5. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:

    One apartment we lived in we had a stackable washer-dryer in the kitchen by the window. The super hooked up a dryer vent that went out the upper part of the window. One year, sparrows kept trying to build a nest in the vent, only to have it blown away when the dryer was turned on. It took a few tries for them to figure out it was not the best nesting place…

    I also lived one place where I could see a few nests in the crevices of a building I could see out my window. Too far away to see what kind of birds though. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

  6. You have such a lively yard. I would love to see it. :) Nests are a wonderful “n” word!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Thanks much, Brenda.

      Like

  7. Anne Young's avatar Anne Young says:

    A great variety of nests – I loved the blue eggs – fantastic colour. We had a nest of blackbirds – I love their song.

    Visiting from a to Z https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Thanks, Anne. We have blackbirds here also.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    I love finding bird nests! A bird tries to build one on the balcony every year, but it is a very windy spot and the sticks always blow down…

    <a href=”http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com“>The Multicolored Diary</a>

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Csenge, that’s so unfortunate a location to build. Hopefully they found a better spot.

      Like

  9. It’s a delight to see some of the nests you’ve “hosted” over the years. We often have sparrows nesting in our lilac bush in the backyard, and sometimes, when the bush is blooming and the birds fly out, there is a little scattering of petals. Like a little confetti thrown. Always makes me smile.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Oh wow, I love the poetry of it, Deborah.

      birds nest in lilacs
      startle and flutter away
      perfumed confetti <3

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Donna B McNicol's avatar DB McNicol says:

    Over the years in various homes and different states, I’ve had many different nests in my yard. Robin is the most common. I’ve watched them hatch and fly away. I loved that. Now we have barn swallow nests in our empty horse barn (we’ve never had horses, it was here when we bought the house).

    Donna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Donna, that is awesome with the barn swallows. Sounds similar to the situation here in 2011. (Don’t ask what happened to them.)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Donna B McNicol's avatar DB McNicol says:

        I haven’t seen them yet this year but we’re still having some cold nights. I think we’re on our 3rd or 4th winter. LOL!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

          I hear you, Donna! Enough winter already.

          Liked by 1 person

  11. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    I love your collection of nests. We have a small suburban yard, but we’ve still had lots of nests over the years, including wasps, squirrels, wrens, chickadees, house sparrows, song sparrows, and robins. Any time I see one it feels like such a blessing!

    https://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      I’m happy they choose your yard for sanctuary, Anne. And yes, a blessing!

      Like

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