At Fair Meadows Sanctuary, one fact has been made abundantly clear: there is keen competition for nesting sites, both in artificial structures and in tree cavities.
Typical of this small, fast-moving denizen of the treetops, our gnatcatcher led us to the spot where he and his mate were busy constructing their nest, a compact cup positioned on the top of a limb and resembling a tree knot.
I’m slow-birding, watching for activity in my favorite bush—a large, spreading red-osier dogwood—when a bright yellow bird lands right in the middle. He moves along the branches, searching for food, and stops every few seconds to sing, “sweet sweet I’m so sweet.”
The telltale sign of a Tree Swallow nest is often feathers. In some cases, there are so many feathers, you can’t even see the underlying nest structure of dry grass or pine needles.