Bushtits building their nest using moss, lichen, leaves and other materials.
Hawks Prairie Ponds
Lacey, WA
April 27, 2017
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| Male Bushtit exits the nest after depositing nesting materials inside. The male bushtit has dark eyes |
from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web page on the Bushtit:
'Both male and female help build the remarkable hanging nest,
a process that may go on for a month or more. The nest hangs up to a foot below
its anchor point and has a hole in the side near the top that leads down into
the nest bowl. The adults make a stretchy sac using spider webs and plant
material, sometimes stretching the nest downward by sitting in it while it’s
still under construction. They add insulating material such as feathers, fur,
and downy plant matter and camouflage the outside with bits taken from nearby
plants, including the tree the nest is built in. While the nest is active all
the adults associated with it (the breeding pair plus helpers) sleep in it. The
pair typically reuses the nest for its second brood of the season.'
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| Female Bushtit brings spiderweb to the nest. The spiderweb binds the nest materials together. Female bushtits have light colored eyes. |
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| Male bushtit bringing nest materials. |
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