Making nests

With wildlife breeding season in full swing around Gatestreet Barn, there are plenty of hungry youngsters waiting patiently (or, more often, impatiently) for their parents to bring food to the nest. Birds only spend a small part of their year – often only a few days – building nests, and yet they instinctively build it to a design that is unique to their species. 

Blackbirds, Robins and Song Thrushes build nests in the ‘classic design’ – nice neat cups of woven grasses and small twigs, camouflaged with moss and lined with mud. The birds will be quite careful about approaching their chosen nest site, and you may see them stopping to check they are not being watched before they plunge into a hedge or shrub.

The nest and blue eggs of a Blackbird.

You may be surprised to know that spiders are of great importance to birds in spring. Not only do they make good food for adults and chicks, but their webs are an essential ingredient of many nests. Long-tailed tits make the most intricate and delicate of all bird’s nests – and they couldn’t do it without spiders. 

They spend three weeks creating their pouch-shaped luxury home. This begins with a cup and dome made of moss and stuck together with cobwebs, making it elastic. They will then collect lichens from walls and rocks and place them on the outside for camouflage. Finally, they fill their pouch with feathers for warmth and softness.

A less labour-intensive way to make a nest is to use a hole that already exists. Many birds, including tits and owls, take advantage of natural holes in trees as a ready-made place to bring up their young. Around Gatestreet Barn, many of these birds that prefer to rent than build can be found, including four species of tit and two species of owls. It’s hoped it will become three species of owl soon, though, with some new Barn Owl boxes having been installed this summer. 

Others, like House Sparrows, have learnt to take advantage of holes in roofs to make their nests. Once they have chosen their nest site, it still needs lining, but it requires much less careful craftsmanship. It’s a quick job for sparrows to stuff their hole with grass, which looks rather untidy, but does the trick. Indeed, there is a healthy colony of House Sparrows at Gatestreet Barn, and at this time of year they are particularly busy feeding their young.