Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Another Mother 2 b..

I would like to welcome two little Blue-gray Gnatcatchers to our neighborhood! This is the little lady below getting ready to pull off some fragments of that cocoon to add to her nest. Gnatcatchers are tiny birds but their size tells you nothing about their unbelievable abilities to create an amazing nest!
This is the handsome Mr G. He has been working with the Mrs. helping to build their tiny, tiny nest in a spindly little tree not too far from the side of the road. The nest is situated about 20 feet above the road's surface.
Lucky for them that several spiders have chosen to build their webs close by as the Gnatcatchers probably used some of this silky material to help attach their nest to the tree limbs. You might have to click on this pic to see the web..
They slaved approx 4 days to built this (2 x 2 1/2 inch) nest. So tiny!! Each carrying little pedals of cocooned ivy and intertwining them with what looks like bits of spider web, cocoon matter and plant fiber. All the nesting materials were laced together extremely well. (click to enlarge)
What a construction crew these two have been. I feel pretty lucky to have seen this. Two little birds working from sun up to sun down..pulling, pushing, tweaking...weaving...

..getting their "home" ready. Today you can see the Mrs. sitting in that little cup with her long tail pointed up one side and the tip of her bill pointing up the other! Another Mother I don't want to bother ...but I do hope all goes well for this little bird family. It would be rather nice to have some Gnatcatcher youngsters flitting around the neighborhood!

20 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Congrats on the NEW family in your neighborhood. I've never seen Gnatcatchers --but they are such pretty birds.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Mem. Day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

You've done a wonderful job telling this story.

Dawn Fine said...

Tina.
What a very cool nest! I love little blue grays. I have never seen the next before.......thanks!

Leedra said...

Love the 2nd photo, shows the blue so well. This time of year is so much fun.

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Shelley said...

You've made me fall in love with these Gnatcatchers!! Adorable!!

Gail said...

Wow! Thanks, many of us do not take the time to see. With your photos, we can.

Anonymous said...

I never saw these before today. Lovely shots. I like them all.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Good luck to the new family.It is so neat to be able to observe these things.
Blessings,Ruth

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Tina: My you capture a lot of different birds. what great shots of the nest.

George said...

You got some great pictures of the birds and their nest. But I was equally impressed with the shot of the spider web -- fantastic. I hope all gos well for the new fammily.

NCmountainwoman said...

Wow! How lucky you were to find that nest...they really blend in well. Gnatcatchers are such wonderful birds...beautiful to watch and good for keeping down the insects. Great photographs.

Neal said...

Great story with great pictures as usual. BTW, I have my header photo rotating randomly between 17 pictures so I have no idea which one you saw. If you refresh the page when viewing my blog you should get a different header. However since it's random it would be possible to get the same one twice in a row. I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Rose said...

Wonderful images--glad you captured these scenes to share with us.

Peggy said...

Wow! I've never seen this! Great eyes to spot it, congrats!

Eve said...

Oh good luck to them Tina. This will be a life bird for me if I get to see one here. I'll be on the lookout now that you have shown me what to look for! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Oh WOW...that's amazingly well documented bird behavior, it should have taken you a few days to put this series together. Well done Tina

Dave's Bird Watching Blog said...

Those two look like a fun addition to your neighborhood. You did give them the warning about your pet hawks, right? :-)

Love that nest! Looks like a larger version of a hummingbird chateau/abode/dwelling.

P.S. Sorry to be absent of late. I've been terrible about checking everyone's blogs lately. Thanks for all your fun comments on the bluebirds. Nicole really liked that you called her "Mrs. Dave!"

jalynn01 said...

I don't know how you spotted these precious little birds building their nest, but I'm sure glad you did. Reminds me of a hummingbird nest! I can't wait to see what happens next. And I too, loved the spiderweb as much as the nest building. Great post Tina.

jalynn01 said...

I don't know how you spotted these precious little birds building their nest, but I'm sure glad you did. Reminds me of a hummingbird nest! I can't wait to see what happens next. And I too, loved the spiderweb as much as the nest building. Great post Tina.

Marsha said...

I look forward to seeing more of this mother 2 b and her nest. The nest alone is a work of art. Great photos!

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