.
All content included on this site such as text, graphics and images is protected by U.S and international copyright law.
The compilation of all content on this site is the exclusive property of the site copyright holder.
Who Lives Here?
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Having just finished my book review of the delightfully informative and beautifully illustrated book, "Bird, Nest & Egg",
I started thinking about who, in the way of a few feathered and furry neighbors, live in and around BelleWood Gardens.
Look into the bushes. Look up in the trees. Who lives here? Might it be a bird? No. It is a squirrel's drey,
.
Squirrel's drey in Acer rubrum, October 2009 / November 2009. Images courtesy Wikimedia Commons
a summer nest made of twigs, often with leaves attached and lined with grass, moss, and fur. I have seen
a pregnant squirrel stripping bark from a field cedar, folded neatly to fit in her mouth and running to use it
in her drey. Good deal. The insect repellent nature of cedar bark discourages fleas and ticks. In summer,
the dreys are attached to branches, as we see here. In winter, the squirrels will nest inside a hollow tree.
If, as we learned from "Bird, Nest & Egg" birds will use burrows and cavities and more made by other birds and animals such as prairie dogs, why might bird nests be reused by someone else? Yes indeed.
.
One November a neighbor discovered flying squirrels were snuggled in a bluebird nest box. Alas,
he was so enthusiastic about showing it off to visitors that the tenants departed the neighborhood.
The first robins return while winter is still with us. These will be the males (which may be distinguished by the darker feathers on their heads as contrasted to slate gray body feathers.) They want to claim territory before the females arrive. This will be but the first of their constructions, as robins build a new nest not just each season but often for the second brood of the year and even possibly a third if conditions are favorable.
.
A robin's nest is easy to notice in winter, like these two. Most are a few feet off the ground in a quiet spot.
.
At the 2019 Designed for Nature garden tour someone had collected a nest with two eggs. Both images show
the sturdy foundation built of twigs that was lined with fine grasses. Robins also use hair and other materials.
Not all nests are as neat and tidy as a robin's. Back in May of 2008 there was a great horned owl
image copyright Wm. P. Woodall, all rights reserved
who assembled a somewhat shaggy, rather messy platform of small branches. And there she raised her owlet.
If you have any comments or questions, you can e-mail me: jgglatt@gmail.com
Back to February
Back to the main Diary Page