A Conversation About: Nest Building

By Jean Thomas

I was doing my usual spring cleaning the other day. It was time to get the hedge trimmer and cut down the tall ornamental grasses. I had enjoyed them all winter and it was time to cut the old dry stems to make way for the new year of growth. The chore went smoothly until we got to the largest, the Zebra Grass.  The electric edger buzzed along and we triumphantly admired the pile of trimmings. Then we saw it! There sat a beautiful nest with four speckled eggs inside. Somehow we had cut just above it without touching a thing. Panic almost ensued, but we did the only appropriate thing. We gathered bundles of the cut grass and build a protective tepee around the nest, tying it with garden twine. The picture we took helped us identify the eggs as belonging to Dark-Eyed Juncos. I call them the tuxedo birds when I see them around the feeders in the winter. Their winter coat is a dark grey with a white vest and white feathers outlining their tails.                                                                                                             Oddly enough, my friend who was helping me garden is Eileen Goble, and she was a guest on episode 33 of the Nature Calls Podcast… https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-33-so-you-bought-a-house. We laughed about the differences in nest building between birds and people. Birds can rely on their instincts and somehow know how to find a safe site to build their homes. (Of course natural disasters like grass cutting giants for them and tornadoes for us can’t be predicted.) Their home is most often only needed for one season, and they build a new one the next year. Humans need to consider many more variables because they tend to nest, if they’re lucky, for many years in the same place. The problems are plentiful, as are the rewards. Eileen and I reminisced about her interview as a realtor. We talked about how important planning can be when buying or building a house. The episode was called, “So You Bought a House.” We didn’t get into interior decisions, but reviewed the decisions to be made outdoors. Gardening and landscaping are hugely important. Things like the quality of the soil can be researched easily with soil testing, but there are many other things going on in a home than we realize.                                                                              Most often, we are buying a home from the previous inhabitant… a used nest, in a way. Rarely does a new homeowner receive a description of all the plants and animals they’ll be dealing with. Rarely do we get a list of what flowers are planted where or which areas may flood in the spring, or what wildlife we’ll be competing with for the tomato crop.  Eileen and I both recommend this: hard as it may seem… wait a year before planting or making any big changes in the yard and gardens. This can save a lot of time and money. You’ll learn where the sunny and shady areas are, what areas tend to get too wet, and what perennials and bulbs have been snoozing under the soil. You’ll discover what wildlife regularly uses your property as a highway and be able to avoid planting snack bars for the four-legged ingrates. There are usually more pleasant surprises than unpleasant, but there will be surprises. So, instead of rearranging the landscape beyond basic cleanup, go to a local farmers’ market . Learn about your neighborhood while you learn about your new home. And be glad that you don’t have to build a new house every year with your beak.