As the warblers and sparrows make their way through on their way to warmer climates, I thought I’d share a few images of one particular little bird that seems to know how to keep warm.
This little yellow warbler built her nest in a tree in my neighbour’s yard. This was her second attempt at a nest as her first one was completely destroyed by wind and rain during a storm.
Nest building is a complex task and these tiny birds are masters of construction. There is a huge variety of designs, materials, and construction among birds. The Yellow Warbler’s nest though looks to be one of the coziest.
Yellow Warblers build their nests in the vertical fork of a bush or small tree such as willow, aspen, or birch. The nest is usually within about 10 feet of the ground but occasionally up to about 40 feet. One nest I discovered last year was only about 5 feet off the ground. The bird abandoned that one and rebuilt it in another higher location.
While researching warbler nests I learned that it takes about 4 days for a female warbler to build her nest. She starts by building a cup of grasses, bark strips, and plants. She then adds plant fibres, spiderwebs, and plant down around the outside. In my photos, you can see the willow catkins and poplar fluff she is tucking in. The inner cup is lined with hair, feathers, and fibres from dandelion, willow, and cattail seeds.
Once the nest is completed, the female will lay between 1-7 grey or greenish eggs with dark spots which she then incubates for 10-13 days. Young will stay in the nest for 9-12 days before fledging and a successful pair of warblers may raise a second brood of chicks.
One interesting fact about warblers is that they will sometimes outsmart a cowbird; if a cowbird lays its eggs in a Yellow Warbler’s nest, the warbler often begins building a new nest directly on top of the old one, abandoning both its own eggs and the cowbird’s.
That’s all for this week, I hope you enjoyed this week’s story. I’ll be back next week with more photos and nature info. Have a great week, everyone.