g1234 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 My daughter has wanted to know for a long time exactly how birds build what we think of as traditional nests, the round kinds in trees made of grass or twigs or reeds or whatever...how do they weave them, with only a beak? What does it look like when they work? How do they even get started, and how do they not just end up with a pile of grass at the end? We have read lots of books, but they never answer the nitty-gritty questions about how the birds actually accomplish the deed. Does anyone know a good resource for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 The Life of Birds ( Attenborough ) is a fantastic video series. I remember that they had a fairly intricate study of Bower Birds building a nest, but that may not be what you are looking for. I'd look on your Audubon website and see if there are any live cams that you can watch. They are in real time, so you can see the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 There might be something at the Lab of O www.birds.cornell.edu Really poke around there. It is a very big site. Look down at the bottom for all the little nooks and crannies, lol. They also have a youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/LabofOrnithology You can also submit a question on their site. I think that is an excellent one, and I would be interested in the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonflyer Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thanks! We are starting a bird unit study in a few weeks and these will be a great addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I have no idea how old your child is but will share this lovely picture book in hopes you or others could enjoy it. It is based on a folktale and has lovely illustrations of the different types of nests different species of birds make. (No specific detail on the weaving though). http://www.amazon.com/The-Magpies-Nest-Joanna-Foster/dp/0395621550/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401234880&sr=8-1&keywords=the+magpie%27s+nest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 And if your child happens to be a middle or high schooler, this one looks like it has every detail anyone would ever want to know about nest construction. Avian Architecture by Peter Goodfellow http://www.amazon.com/dp/069114849X/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMama Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I LOVE this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Feather-Nest-Maryjo-Series/dp/0765107627 It features exquisite hand drawn illustrations of, surprise!, birds, eggs, feathers, and nests. :) It is a very thick book, and full of poetry selections, literary imagery, interesting scientific tidbits, and close ups into the world of birds. I would consider it essential for any child or adult who wanted to study birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommytoFour Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Here's a pretty cool video of a bird making a nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 We got a live show this year just a couple of feet from our school room window. A bird built her nest in our patio umbrella, sat on eggs, and is now feeding baby birds. She worked on the nest for a long time, bringing long strands of dry grass and using her beak to place each strand into the nest. It has been interesting to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Thanks so much, everyone! This is a bunch of great resources. I have already put a number of them on hold at our library. KEllis: that video is IT!! Exactly what she has been looking for! Oh, wow. I can't wait to show it to her. It shows the bird really doing it--what it looks like for a bird to weave grass into a nest. This is the best. Thank you so much! Kalmia, thanks for the ideas. Yes, you would think a book called Avian Architecture would fulfill all her dreams. However, we had the book from the library sone time ago, and it, like lots of other resources, didn't quite answer her particular questions. It is a beautiful book and clearly shows the construction of lots of kinds of nests, but it doesn't actually tell/show how the bird itself does the construction. She kept saying, "But how did the bird do what the book is saying?" Thanks again to all. What a wealth of knowledge there is out there on these boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Just subbing so I can find this thread, LOL... my DS is quite the bird lover, so I need to show him the video and look up some of the other resources!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 The Life of Birds ( Attenborough ) is a fantastic video series. I remember that they had a fairly intricate study of Bower Birds building a nest, but that may not be what you are looking for. I'd look on your Audubon website and see if there are any live cams that you can watch. They are in real time, so you can see the process. I was impressed how my 2nd grader sat through all the Life of Birds episodes. He absolutely watched every bit of it and would pause it to tell me what's going on! We enjoy watching the Bird Cams, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I'm just going to throw this out there for anyone who could be interested since this is a bird thread. My DS8 did Apologia's flying creatures book for science this year, and it was quite heavy on bird details (nests, habitats, migration patterns, etc)...a little too much for me! :) My DS enjoyed it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 * (Yeah, the annoying nebulous fb asterisk which just means I want to find this thread easily later!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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