N is for nest

19 Friday Dec 2025

Tags

Bird's nest fungi, birds' nests, nest, nuthatch, rookery, Rooks' nests

Nest: noun; a structure built by birds or insects to leave their eggs in to develop, and by some other animals to give birth or live in (Cambridge Dictionary).

In January, I spotted a Nuthatch excavating a hole in a tree in which to make its nest (Nest excavation, 25 January), though on subsequent visits the hole seemed to have been abandoned.

At the end of March, during one of my local meanders, the screeching of several Rooks drew my eyes upwards to discover several nests, with adults feeding well grown but ever hungry chicks (A new rookery, 2 April).

When is a nest not a nest? Check out the Cyathus striatus fungi I wrote about at the end of January (Fluted bird’s nest fungi, 31 January).

351/366 Wild word: nidification

16 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birds' nests, empty nests, nest building, nests, nidifcation, nidify, wild words

Nidification: noun; [zoology] nest-building; origin: mid 17th century from Latin nidificat– ‘made into a nest’ (from the verb nidificare, from nidus ‘nest’) + -ation (Oxford Dictionary).

201216 nidification (1)

This might not be the time of year for nest-building for most critters (though I did spot a Magpie poking a stick into what looked like a potential nest site yesterday) but it is the time of year, with the trees bare of leaves, when you can see some of our birds’ nest-building efforts from earlier this year, and previous years, if they’re birds that keep the same nest site year after year. And I only just learnt this new word this week so thought I’d pass it on.

201216 nidification (2)

4/366 Empty nests

04 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birds' nest, birds' nests, empty nests

Nest: noun; ‘A structure or place made or chosen by a bird for laying eggs and sheltering its young’ (Oxford Dictionary).

At this time of year, when the trees are leafless, it’s much easier to see empty birds’ nests, and these are a few I found during today’s walk. The first (below) was only exposed because the local authorities have done their usual harsh cutting back of the bushes and brambles that border the local section of the Wales coastal path. It would have been very cosy as it was lined with sheep’s wool. From what I could see from ground level, the other nests were much more basic, stick-and-twig constructions.

200104 birds nest (1) 200104 birds nest (3) 200104 birds nest (4)