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Posted: Aug/03/2005 4:50 PM PST
[quote=IronKnees][COLOR=Red][B][I]I wasn't sure whether to put this on the birdhouse and nesting topic area or the hummingbird area, but to avoid making a shadow post (posting the same question in two areas) I chose the hummer area...[/I] [/B] [B]______________________________________________ ____________[/B][/COLOR]My question is; [B]What kind of area, fauna, etc. do hummers use as nesting areas, and more to the point, is there, as with some birds, anything I can do or make which will attract hummers to build a nest? [/B] The ones i've found in my yard are made of spider web and covered in lichen on the outside. Saved this one when the babies left. My thumb just fits in it and the inside opening is only as deep as my thumb nail is long. If you have hummingbirds at your feeders most of the season, then you probably have them nesting near by. Nests can be extremely hard to find. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 3:49 PM PST
Robins will nest almost anywhere. I'll never forget the picture I saw in Birds and Blooms magazine of a robin sitting in a nest she built on top of a tire in the wheel well of an old beat up car. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 3:55 PM PST
Quote: Originally posted by jbb2388 Robins will nest almost anywhere. I'll never forget the picture I saw in Birds and Blooms magazine of a robin sitting in a nest she built on top of a tire in the wheel well of an old beat up car.I'll be dogged! I've got that picture... We have an old stack of Birds and Blooms and in fact that magazine, I think, is in the upstairs bath right now... unless my lovely bride cleaned up after me again...  
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 2:24 PM PST
Yeah, thats what I meant by a shelf. Not exactly a box, but who cares. They just like an open space. I'm sure once I do build one, they'll use it every year also. This year there are 4 robins nests in my yard and my neighbor's. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 12:31 PM PST
Not sure about the hummer nests, but [URL=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAbou tBirds/BirdGuide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird_dtl.htm l]here's[/URL] a link to some info on them. Robins don't use cavities(boxes) for nesting. Usually an open area. There are plans on the net if you do a search for Robin Shelves. Very easy to make. I'm planning on building a couple myself. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 2:03 PM PST
That one in the picture looks like the ones I have built also. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 2:39 PM PST
Thank you Ironknees for your info on robin's houses. I have never heard of them before. We have had lots of robin's build nests in our trees this year & have had them build on windowsills. How high do you put the boxes? I've noticed that most of ours don't build theirs up very high & we can see the babies from the ground. That also makes them easy prey for cats. I heard somewhere that hummers like hair for their nests. I've only seen their nests in pictures & they usually look almost like a knot on the branch. What was dove shelf like & how high from the ground? ps--It's ok that you hunt deer, even though they are beautiful. If they weren't hunted enough they'd overpopulate & get sick & there are too many car/deer accidents anyhow. |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 12:36 PM PST
I've got robin nests in every box I've put out, including the old Tupperware bowl and plastic container... The "box" my dad built, and the ones I've made in past years have all been used... I have one wired (didn't want to use nails) in my blue spruce tree, and the others in a silver maple... They come back to the same nests EVERY year and have for the 30 some years we have owned this home... Well... obviously not the same exact robins, but the bowls and/or boxes are in constant use. The only exception is a few years when doves took possession of one of them... This picture is roughly representative of the box Dad built, and the ones I've built... With the old bowls, I've made sure I mounted them under very protected areas... The blue spruce is great for that, and the maple has areas of overhanging protection as well... To clarify, by "box" I'm not talking about an enclosure, but simply a box or platform such as the one below... [IMG]http://store1.yimg.com/I/shawcreekfarms2_1854 _1596102[/IMG] 
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Posted: Aug/02/2005 12:59 PM PST
[COLOR=Red][B][I]I wasn't sure whether to put this on the birdhouse and nesting topic area or the hummingbird area, but to avoid making a shadow post (posting the same question in two areas) I chose the hummer area...[/I] [/B] [B]______________________________________________ ____________[/B][/COLOR]My question is; [B]What kind of area, fauna, etc. do hummers use as nesting areas, and more to the point, is there, as with some birds, anything I can do or make which will attract hummers to build a nest? [/B] In years past, I've made robin boxes with great success, and also have found that the doves will use a platform that I made over a garage door... Actually, that was by accident... It was a support that I put there for my game gambrel that I use for skinning deer during deer hunting season... (please don't hate me for hunting :o ) but it stood out enough, and was protected by the overhang, that the doves have nested there each year for the past fifteen years or so... There I go yapping on and on again... Thanks in advance for any tips... Dave (IronKnees) |
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Posted: Aug/03/2005 2:33 PM PST
I'm kind of qurious too if the robins would use an old nest that blew out of the tree during a storm this spring... I kept it to show the grandkids, and it's still laying in a protected area... I'm tempted to put it in a new "box" and see what happens... |
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