We've been on the look out for nests and found several around our home. That sparked the kids & I to search out the various kinds of nests & what bird builds them.

There are 5 major types of nests:

cavity ~ a hollowed-out opening in the trunk of a tree, either found naturally in dead trees or made by birds such as woodpeckers; the cavity is smallest at the beginning of the opening and is largest inside the trunk where eggs are laid. Chickadees, nutatches & bluebirds are cavity nesters.

cup ~ cup-shaped; the material on the outside of the nest is more coarse and thick, the inside is usually more soft to cushion the eggs and keep them warm. the songbirds such as sparrows, finches, thrushes & even hummingbirds are cup nesters.

platform ~ mostly flat and supported by tree limbs. crows, ravens and birds in the raptor group like hawks & eagles build platform nests. The raptors build very large nests on tops of dead trees. This nest is also found in marshy areas and used by waterfowl.

spherical ~ ball-shaped, with a single hole on one side. Marsh Wrens will build many of these nests at one time, but only use one as their "active" nest. The other "dummy" nests are used to confuse predators from finding the nests with eggs or young. ( we thought this was COOL!  )

here's a link with more. HERE

Here's a nest we found.

Here's another one we found near a tree that we brought home to study. It's super cool, such wonderful builders. Just as the 'cup nest' above mentions, its hard on the outside and had softer material inside. Even mom was impressed!

We also made bird nest treats.

We collected things on our nature walks this week, eyeing anything we thought a bird could pick up and use to build his nest with. Using some of it, we 'tried' building our own nests which allowed us to see just how smart God made His creatures of the air. It's very difficult! Certianly gives us an appreication for our 'tweet, tweet' friends.