So when it comes to bird nests in unexpected places, this nest beats the Starlings and the Pigeons hands down.
I don’t even know wtf this power line thingy is called. But it’s hollow and has a small hole that’s a perfect size for a Black-capped Chickadee.
I noticed this nest by chance. Pilot and I were finishing up our afternoon walk, a time reserved for casually feeding crows and seriously playing with the dog. I was looking up at the sky, as I usually do to see if my crow family is about, when I saw this little bird go flitting through the air and fly into the opening of the thingy.
“What?!” I exclaimed incredulously to nobody. Did I really just see that?
The thingy is black and at the time the sun was beating directly on it. I couldn’t imagine why any bird would want to build a nest in that plastic oven.
It was dinnertime for little dogs, and I didn’t have my camera on me, but, of course, I went back the next day to investigate.
Lucky for me and Pilot it was an overcast day, nice and cool, because we stood on the street corner for almost an hour, staring at the opening of that plastic contraption. I did manage to see someone come out within a couple minutes, but my camera wasn’t ready. However, I was able to ID the bird as a Black-Capped Chickadee as it hopped through the branches of the tree collecting food.
There were at least two chickadees in the area, chirping and flying about and landing on wires.
They're soooo tiny.
While waiting on that corner I had conversations with two neighbors and had to pay Pilot multiple snacks to make the boredom worth his while. During this time, my crow family showed up and started arguing with the neighbor crows about who I belonged to. (My crow friends pose an ongoing challenge in my birding adventures.)
The scrub jays showed up to see what all the fuss was about and to see if I was handing out free food.
The squirrels started running spring feverishly all over the place.
Even Bo showed up and jumped on my head. (Sorry, couldn’t get a selfie with the zoom lens.)
I decided the amount of activity was too much for any sensible bird to risk revealing their nesting site, so Pilot and I ditched the corner and went for a walk. We returned to the intersection about ten minutes later. All was quiet. I concealed myself under the low branches of a tree on another corner of the intersection and waited, waiving on multiple cars with polite drivers who stopped to let me cross.
And then… finally… my patience was rewarded.
Fun facts: The Black-capped Chickadee nests in human-made nest boxes, in burrows in trees that they have excavated themselves, and inside old woodpecker nests.
And also, apparently, in thingies on power lines.
Does anyone know what the thingy is actually called, by the way?
Thanks for stopping by!
