Two different birds, very different nests.




Our neighborhood is very mature with towering trees and mature shrubs and bushes. That of course attracts all kinds of birds. Here are two examples of what likes to nest in our garden.

This Robin's nest was abandoned by the parents. It was built by our deck under the eaves of the roof over our porch. This Mama thought we were too loud and abandoned the nest. Unlike the Robins who built a nest in a decorative wreath on a friend's front entrance door and didn't mind people coming in all day and night. After my children and I admired and studied the nest we donated it to another homeschooling family with the request that they pass it on to the next homeschooling family after they were done. The four young birds that never were still had plenty of admirers.

 


This is a Cardinal's nest slapped together in our honeysuckle shrub.  I removed it after the young were gone and the nest had been abandoned.


The difference in the construction of these two nests is remarkable. The Robin's nest is a tightly woven, sturdy structure, glued together with mud and lovingly padded with soft grasses inside. The Cardinal's nest is barely hanging on. Slapped together with twigs, some plastic and a few dry leaves the nest  looks as though it couldn't withstand much more than a gentle breeze. Yet, both birds successfully raise their young every year.