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Leafless Trees

November 26th, 2014

This time of year I’m always on the lookout for bird nests. With the leaves off the trees they’re easy to spot. I walked by this spot a million times in the summer and had no idea there was a nest here. It’s only about 2.5 feet off the ground.
tiny Bird nest 2
I also loved seeing that the little bird used shredded paper from my compost pile along with birch bark. I have not idea what kind of bird built this beautiful nest, I’ll have to do some research to see if I can figure it out. Or perhaps one of you can give us the answer.
tiny Bird nest 1
Bird nests are truly amazing to me. I could never build something so intricate with 10 fingers and birds manage to build them with their beaks. You can be I’ll be keeping a keen eye out for more of these little beauties. This one might be cut from it’s perch to put on a shelf in my office.

What do you like most about the trees being leafless?

11 Comments to “Leafless Trees”
  1. Nebraska Dave on November 26, 2014 at 10:00 am

    Susy, leafless trees give me a better view of the night sky. My neighborhood is filled with fully mature trees and covers practically all of the heavenly view with its canopy of leaf filled branches. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was one of the selling points for my wife and I to buy the house 30 years ago. Summer time front patio sitting is awesome under the shade of the old Sycamore tree. Winter time sky viewing is awesome as well. Every season has its own things to enjoy. I like Winter almost as much as the other seasons but, of course, spring and fall are my favorite.

    Have a great Maine Winter tree leafless day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  2. Amy Linch on November 26, 2014 at 2:29 pm

    This is my favorite time of the year, although, here in Texas, about 2/3 of the trees still have their leaves. We love hunting for bird nests, too. Such a joy to find them…discovering what the birds used in the construction of their little nests. It’s ALWAYS interesting.
    Love the increased sunlight in areas that are normally shady during the rest of the year. The sweet, earthy smell of the fallen leaves is another favorite to add to the list. Not many things I DON’T love about this time of year.

    Reply to Amy Linch's comment

  3. Brenda on November 26, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    This spring I found a nest that was pretty fun. The bird parents had utilized some bright blue tarp shreds (not degradable, oops, but oddly pretty), pine needles and twigs, chicken feathers, and sheep wool. All that was stuff from our property :)
    Since it was on the ground I collected it before the sheep could smush it. I think I gave it to my grandsons. Other times, if the nest is where it is unlikely to be reused, I add it to my “collection”. I put wind eggs (from the chickens) and other eggs from the ground in the nests. I like the way they look.
    This year I am noticing all the squirrel nests up high in the leafless trees. They sure are agile.

    Reply to Brenda's comment

  4. Brenda on November 26, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    I’ve noticed that the last several comments I’ve left always disappear after a short time. Am I doing something wrong?

    Reply to Brenda's comment

    • Mindy on November 30, 2014 at 4:54 pm

      Mine always disappear too. In fact, I commented on this post and it is gone.

      Reply to Mindy's comment

    • Susy on December 7, 2014 at 6:23 pm

      HM, that’s weird. I’ll check my spam filter to see if they’re sent there.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Mindy on November 26, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    I love hiking in the woods when the leaves are gone. you can see all the way through the woods and when the sun is low in the sky, it casts some beautiful shadows.

    Reply to Mindy's comment

  6. Lemongrass on November 26, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    The nests that the birds build are amazing and well constructed. To see them build their nests is even more amazing. I spend three hours knitting on my back porch and looking at a bird build her nest..

    Reply to Lemongrass's comment

  7. Charlie@Seattle Trekker on November 27, 2014 at 12:04 am

    I am always amazed at the effort it takes to construct one of these nests; just the number of trips carrying almost nothing in each trip. If I had to do that I am not sure I have that much discipline.

    Reply to Charlie@Seattle Trekker's comment

  8. FurnCroft on November 29, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    I hate to be a party-pooper but collecting wild birds nests is actually illegal, even on private property. It’s best to enjoy them in situ and take photos.

    Reply to FurnCroft's comment

  9. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on December 1, 2014 at 11:24 am

    It almost looks like an Oriole nest to me. You can send the photo to The Birders Report and they can identify the nest for you.

    http://www.thebirdersreport.com/egg-and-nest-identification.

    Lisa

    Reply to Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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