Topic: Bird's Nest - What kind??

[bayou girl]

Wrennie, HELP!

this bird's nest is in a hanging planter.  it is hard to tell that it is a nest at all, but i saw momma fly out of it.  unfortunately, she startled me as much as i startled her and i couldn't see what she was.  the only things i got from the encounter was that she wasn't much bigger than a large or extra large chicken's egg and was brown.  just a little more tan than the color of the nest itself.



any clues?

[Dianna]

Dove?

ETA: Nope, probably not. Our doves are a lot bigger than an egg...

[bayou girl]

i am thinking maybe a sparrow or a wren.  i just don't know.  i should do some research...  but hopefully  wrennie will wander in and just know

[Wrennie]

Did I hear my name??

At first glance I guessed dove or starling but they definitely arent that small and brown. Wren is a possibility but if it is  a wren it isnt done nest building. There are also some warblers that start with a mess like that and then make a neat nest in the middle of it. And as you said sparrows such as song sparrows build starting with that sort of loose mess and then add a firmer one in the middle. Keep watching.

[Bonnie]

not a clue

[bayou girl]

There is a neat nest in the middle. What you can't see on the picture is that there os a hollow in the pile so it looks like the hole on a bird house. I'll try for better pictures.

[Wrennie]

Ooooooh! I see it now! Up a the top of the picture with a brown leaf at the front edge? I'll stick with sparrow of some sort I think. Keep watching from as much a distance as you can so she doesn't scare off.

[bayou girl]

well, i thought i'd help, here is the opening circled in red.  but i can't see the red very well

[Dianna]

I am wondering if it is a killdeer's nest. If so, that is all the nest is going to be. They don't do too much for their nests except to have a little shallow spot...

[bayou girl]

you can't really see, but the hole goes into a hollow that looks to be about 3-5 inches deep.  it really is a little cave

[Wrennie]

Definitely not killdeer. They cammo their eggs with gravel, cinders, rubble. No vegetation and they're on the ground, not up somewhere.

Bachmans sparrow, perhaps...