Or maybe Jim Henson? It looks like a muppet bird's nest, so bizarre and fascinating. From a distance it looks like dryer lint stuck in a tree.
But when you get closer, you can see that it's actually an incredible structure, made out of spider webs, lichen, moss, fur, feathers, cottony plant material, and what looks like a lot of other odds and ends stuck onto the outside for camouflage.
It looks like the bushtits have to find a spot where the small branches are close enough to provide suitable framework. This is a view from behind, where you can see how it is suspended from two branches, with another branch crossing through transversely.
Here's a view from below.
This nest is suspended from an apple tree in front of a house about a mile from where I live. I hung around for a billion years (or maybe twenty minutes) hoping to see someone go in or come out, but I never did. This nest has been there for a while, so maybe it's not occupied right now. Bushtits have two broods in a year, though, so maybe they'll be back.
The other day while I was hanging out in Bo land , I noticed a bushtit flitting about and chirping in the branches above me. I aimed my camera and snagged a series of shots, just out of curiosity and desire to have a picture of this itty bitty little bird (they are only about 3 1/2 inches from beak to tail). I didn't realize until I looked at the pictures later that this bird was collecting nesting material!
Since then I've been looking for a nest in the area, but have yet to find one. I'll definitely get some shots of it if I do!
In reading up on the bushtit I learned that the mated pairs will stay together for several years, and that pairs will have an additional adult male helper bird at the nest. I couldn't nail down a confirmation on this, but one site said that sometimes multiple families will use the same nest. Safety in numbers, plus a loving community.
I will close with this bushtit with a mouthful of spider.
Thanks for birding with me!