Serendipitous: The bird a nest..

I have certain expectations of Spring. I want it to arrive with soft breezes and gentle scents; a gradual warming, a brightening of the sky, a subtle greening. We have instead experienced a kind of manic temperature roller coaster, so that one day it feels like August, and the next March. While I was busy glowering and thinking dire thoughts of global warming, I read that Mark Twain was quoted as saying, " In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours." so apparently Spring being capricious is not a new thing.

It seemed like there was a sudden influx of migrating songbirds returning to our area last week. In two short walks I saw Baltimore orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Gray Catbirds, Yellow warblers, Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Eastern Towhees, American Redstarts and a Brown Thrasher! Not a grand list by any standards, but a pretty uncommon experience for this neighborhood. The forest was alive with a new variety of song. Glorious!

Baltimore orioles light up the canopy with a brilliant hit of orange. They construct an amazing nest high in the treetops which is a wonder of avian engineering.

Last season's nest shows how it was securely attached to the branches, then a hanging pouch meticulously woven to hold 3 to 5 eggs. Below is a new nest that has taken about a week to construct and is lined with soft materials to cushion the eggs. It is astonishing how a nest the size of a tennis ball call hold mama and a family of baby birds..

While mama oriole toils, the males are chasing each other through the trees like kamikaze pilots, establishing and maintaining territory. Once the eggs hatch though, dad becomes a very responsible parent and works diligently to help feed the family. It takes a lot of bugs and berries to satisfy those open beaks.

American Robins can have up to 3 broods in a year but only about 40 percent of those nests will successfully produce young, and many of those will not live until November. Not happy statistics for a favorite harbinger of spring. (They are actually in our area year round, just less visible until springtime)

The female builds a nest that will be 6-8 inches across and 3-6 inches tall. She builds it from the inside out pressing twigs and grasses into the shape of a cup, using her wing. Then she uses mud to reinforce it, finally lining it with fine dry grasses. Robins are not always predictable in choosing a house location, so should a nest appear in your hanging pot by the front door, you will need to use the side door until the chicks fledge because Mother Robin is fierce!

When the leaves fill in on this tree, this nest will be invisible, and hopefully these eggs will hatch and produce baby robins with their wide yellow smile and speckled bibs.

I saw a nest way out on a tree limb that stretched out over the canal. It was a large, loosely knit nest but it was hard to tell if it was occupied because of the branches in the way. When I checked my photo later, I found the occupant was Mrs. Common Grackle; one identifying feature being the baleful yellow eye peering in my direction.

I read that grackles are more likely to nest high up in an evergreen tree, but that they like to nest near water so perhaps this waterfront property ticked all the boxes. They are expert foragers and will eat anything, so berries, bugs and sushi dining are all at their doorstep in this location.

At a distance the male grackle's feathers look black, but in the sunshine his blue hood gleams. His eye is gleaming too; like he just sharpened his beak and he means to use it.

Speaking of sharp beaks, this Northern Flicker is busy working on its nest cavity. He disappeared into the tree trunk until just the tip of his tail was showing, then backed out and spit out sawdust. Both male and female birds work on the excavation and the cavity will need to be 13-16 inches deep to accommodate the brood.

The black cheek patch identifies this as a male yellow-shafted flicker, the female having no patch. I don't know if he is guarding the homestead or taking a morning coffee break from the ongoing construction.

There are many others that seek the security of a well built tree trunk:

This chickadee has chosen a lovely island property on a quiet forest pond..

Mrs Wren has chosen a heritage property; a little rustic, but a lovely neighborhood with plenty of mature trees and in walking distance to the river...

and in this diverse neighborhood, Mme Squirrel has sublet a beautiful high rise apartment, with The Orioles in the penthouse of this building. Oh, and this shy neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Canada geese have had a bit of a challenge using their traditional nesting spots on ponds, islands and at the riverside, because of a turbulent spring resulting in higher water levels in the Grand and local ponds. This mama has found a lovely pond hummock, and her glare tells me to keep moving.

This goose has situated her nest just feet from a busy parking lot by the Grand. It seems an unlikely, even dangerous location, but she seemed pretty relaxed. I watched her get up, gently rearrange her eggs, then nestle down again. Anyone mistaking her relaxed posture for an invitation to a closer look would find that geese go 0-.3 seconds to this..

This little family was on the canal the other day, so they must have gotten an earlier start. As soon as I was spotted on the bank, the goslings were herded into an orderly and compact formation and swiftly moved away. Such efficient and protective parents. Such quiet and obedient babies..must have to do with the Beak of Authority.

The Sandhill cranes are busy nesting on area ponds. When they arrive back in Ontario, their plumage is mostly gray, but they preen their feathers with mud which turns them a rusty colour. This may have another purpose, but it certainly provides effective camouflage. It was hard to pick out the nesting bird on the left, and when the reeds fill in, you won't see her there at all.

Male Red-winged blackbirds arrive in advance of the females in order to establish a territory in the reeded marsh areas. When the females arrive, he woos as many as 15 lovely ladies to his particular section of the pond and they begin making their nests.

She weaves plant material around the upright reeds to make a platform, then adds more plant material and cements it with mud to form a cup. Lastly she lines it with dry, soft material to cushion her eggs.

I watched this female hopping from lily pad to lily pad to feed. While she was exposed, the male was up in the nearest tree keeping up a commentary, ready to announce danger.