Barnswallow nest update: day five of construction... I've been watching these cuties up close for at least a decade now, and this couple is doing something unprecedented (to me). The form of the nest is typical; but the choice of long grasses is something I've never seen before. Typically, they will make very tidy constructions, with each mouful of mud containing a short bit of grass; but this couple is making a shaggy nest, with long blades of grass sticking out everywhere. Why are they doing this??
5
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I love brave mockingbirds but bower builders are most like me
GreenAtheist
Level 8
May 18, 2018
1
This isn't just a bower, though... This is a functional nest that they're building- and it's a sturdy one at that.
@StylisticIdiot I gather from the pix these busy lovebirds are atop a metal roof ? Will heavy rains melt away all that hard work ?
I do voices and I will gather beautiful baubles for my mate THEN WE'LL DECIDE WHERE TO NEST
@GreenAtheist the nest is on an overhang, above my deck... It's actually very well protected from the elements... Even out of the wind- but very much away from rain.
@StylisticIdiot smart birds may last for generations there if hawks and peregrines pass them by
I wonder if this is the way to so a mental status exam on them and they are confused for some reason. SPider webs will be altered by drugs
btroje
Level 9
May 17, 2018
3
I haven't offered these swallows any drugs; but they may have acquired some from a neighbor.
@StylisticIdiot think pesticides or herbicides 
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