John is down at the studio working on a little bronze restoration and I thought I'd take a minute to take photos of these two bird nests I found while cleaning out the houses on the grounds here at MasterWorks in February. Did you know that there are about as many different nest styles as there are kinds of birds? There are even field books printed to help you identify nest and eggs. Many people have seen the neat hummingbird documentary that goes around the internet that shows the thimble-sized little nest they build and I haven't seen one of those yet. I hope to some day!
In the mean time I've got plenty of other interesting nests around here. The pictures are of titmouse on the left and bluebird on the right . We have lots of bluebirds as I've written about before. They make a good sturdy nest and line it with soft materials. On this example it has hairs and mossy material, perfect for tender, featherless baby birds! On the other extreme, you have the titmouse. Every year I say, while I'm 
cleaning out the birdhouses, "God, if I come back as a bird, please don't let it be as a titmouse. Why? Whatever birds think, I don't know, but for some reason the titmouse makes their nest out of sticks and twigs. That's it. Sticks and twigs. No soft lining, no fluff, just the nest. Here you go babies! They must be tough, or at least they are by the time they get out of that homesite!Another interesting nest that I'd like to see some day is that of the Baltimore Oriole. From what I hear and read they actually weave a little bag from grasses and attach it to a branch from several spots around the opening of the bag. We had Orioles fly through one year and spend a few days and were they beautiful to see! But they did not come back and I think they nest farther south. That would probably be the place to find their unique nesting craftsmanship. Oh Dear Lord, how did you think of all these neat things! Thank you!
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