Different Types of Bird Nests and How to Spot Them

1. Long-Lasting Large Bird Nests The bald eagle is known as the grand champion bird nest-builder, with the largest nest being declared in 1963 in St. Petersburg, Florida, weighing over 4,400 pounds.

2. Flexible, Small Bird Nests Hummingbirds, the smallest birds, build their nests on tree branches using plants, soft materials, and spider webs. They decorate their nests with lichen and lay eggs before completing the nest. As baby hummingbirds grow, the nest expands.

3. Oriole Nests Orioles are bird seamstresses, creating iconic pendant nests from tree branches. They use materials like grasses, twine, horsehair, and soft materials like plant fibers, feathers, or wool. The Altamira oriole has one of the longest dangling nests.

4. No-Fuss Scrape Nests Some bird species, such as black skimmers, terns, and plovers, avoid building nests but still lay eggs in shallow depressions. Killdeer, on the other hand, lay eggs in the open, often on gravel or dirt, with cryptic camouflage colors. As beaches become more developed, some nesters have adapted to laying eggs on rooftops..

5. Precarious Cliffside Nests Murres and guillemots nest on rocky coastal cliffs, using pointy eggs for protection and pivoting. Other species, like condors, ravens, and falcons, also build stick nests in cliff crevices.

6. Floating Nests Waterbirds like ducks and loons nest in grasslands or on water, creating floating platform nests from aquatic vegetation to hide eggs and prevent drifting away.

7. Underground Bird Nests Burrows are underground bird nests, often excavated by various animals like prairie dogs, badgers, tortoises, bank swallows, belted kingfishers, and Atlantic puffins in Florida and the west.

8. Early Bird Nest The great horned owl is the favorite bird nest for incubating eggs, especially in winter in northern states. This early start is crucial as the species is slow to hatch and fledge, making it remarkable to observe them sitting on eggs during frigid nights.

9. Cavity Bird Nests Primary cavity nesters like woodpeckers dig holes in trees and cacti for nesting, while secondary cavity nesters like bluebirds, chickadees, and tree swallows use these holes or establish housekeeping in birdhouses.
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