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NESTING cont’d from page 4
Or, they will use fresh water to make mud to add structural integrity to their nests. Robins are especially fond of using mud as an outer shell for their nests. Phoebes and Swallows will make thousands of pea-sized mud balls and bond these together to construct their nests. Bushtits make a long, hanging nest
Bird
American Robin
Anna’s Hummingbird Black Phoebe
Bullock’s Oriole
Bushtit
California Scrub-Jay California Towhee Chestnut-backed Chickadee Downy Woodpecker Hooded Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Northern Mockingbird
Oak Titmouse
Pacific-slope Flycatcher Red-shouldered Hawk Western Bluebird White-breasted Nuthatch
(about 18 inches long). Both the male and female will gather spider webs for nest construction. As they are building the nest, they will often sit on the bottom of the nest to stretch it out. They adorn the outside of the nest with lichens
and mosses. They line the inside of the nest with feathers, fur, or downy plant material.
They leave a hole near the top of the nest for an entrance. It is entertaining to watch a bushtit nest (from a respectable distance) when there are young in the nest. As the adults enter the nest to feed the young, the nest will often wriggle and vibrate with the nestlings movements
as they greedily grab insects from their parents.
A suburban garden can be a haven for nesting birds.
And the nesting birds in turn delight us with their musical songs and intriguing behavior. If you are wondering what kinds of birds are likely to nest in your suburban garden, check the reference table I’ve made below:
Common Nesting Birds
in Suburban Sonoma County
Type of nest
woven cup nest small cup nest
mud nest
woven hanging nest woven hanging nest large woven nest woven cup nest hollows
hollows
attached woven nest woven cup nest small woven cup nest woven cup nest hollows
“sloppy” woven nest large stick nest hollows
hollows
Garden needs
dense shrubs or trees medium-siced shrub
usually man-made structures large trees - usually Oaks
shrubs or small trees
large shrubs or trees
dense shrubs or trees
tree with small holes, or nest box tree with small holes, or nest box Palm Trees
man-made structures or trees small trees
dense shrubs or trees
tree with small holes, or nest box man-made or bark crevices
tall tree
tree with small holes, or nest box tree with small holes, or nest box
Lisa Hug is a birder and naturalist living in Sonoma County, California. She is a freelance naturalist and contract biologist who served as president of Redwood Regional Ornithological Society and teaches birding classes as well as writes about birds. FIND her archived articles on our website www.SonomaCountyGazette.com
2020 Gardeners Resource Guide - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5