Best way to watch is from a distance

Listen to the birds. All those trills, peeps, chirps, honks and whinnies are signs of the mating season. It is usually the males who have the loudest and most elaborate songs, used to attract a mate. Once the pair has bonded, the nesting will begin. These nests are as varied as the birds that build them.

One of the most obvious nests is that of the Tree Swallow or Violet-green Swallow. These energetic birds build grass nests in the eaves of buildings, or will eagerly use appropriate nest boxes (bird houses) if provided. Their active chattering flight as they select a site and build the nest is a joy to watch. In addition, they eat insects, which makes them desirable neighbors. Other cavity nesters that use nest boxes are chickadees, small woodpeckers and even some owls and ducks.

Another swallow that can be easy to see is the Cliff Swallow. Its mud nest cups hang under bridges or the eaves of buildings. These birds are often considered pests as their droppings collect under the nests at entryways or walks, but they also eat large numbers of insects.

Before humans provided artificial nest boxes, cavity nesters had to rely on natural tree cavities or those excavated by woodpeckers. Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are the most common in the area. They use a sharp bill attached to a specially designed skull to pound away at a dead tree until a correctly sized hole is created. Nests inside the cavities usually consist of little more than wood chips, so nest boxes for woodpeckers should be filled with wood chips or shavings to satisfy the birds’ instinct to clean out the cavity. Woodpeckers usually use a hole only once, leaving it to be used in subsequent years by other cavity nesters.

Other easily observed nests are the huge stick constructions built by Bald Eagles, usually perched precariously near the top of a large cottonwood tree. An eagle pair will return to a nest for many years, adding sticks each season until the weight or wind brings it down. Osprey use platforms for nesting. Local utility companies will construct platforms just for this purpose to prevent random nests from damaging power lines. Red-tailed hawks also build large stick nests in a tall tree. Their size and location are appealing to Great Horned Owls, which, being residents, will find and steal a hawk nest that survives the winter before the migrant hawk arrives to reclaim it.

Gulls nest on the ground, often on gravel bars in rivers or on islands, for safety from foxes and other ground predators. The open location makes eggs and young easy prey for raptors, so the gulls will aggressively defend their nests, even against humans who stray too close. Many sparrows, such as Dark-eyed Juncos, also nest on the ground in sheltered, brushy areas. Keeping a brush pile in your yard helps these birds.

Check out open sand banks along rivers or gravel pits for the nest holes of Bank Swallows or Belted Kingfishers. They dig tunnels into the dirt, providing great protection form aerial and terrestrial predators.

Most of our familiar songbirds build a typical nest in the branches of a tree. American Robins and many warblers may nest anywhere from a low bush to a protected branch high in a thick tree. Magpies use large, deep stick nests that are easy to see.

Ducks are perhaps the one family of birds with the greatest variation in nest locations. Some ducks, such as Buffleheads and Common Goldeneyes, will readily use nest boxes.

The Barrow’s Goldeneye may nest on cliffs or abandoned buildings well above the ground. Loons and Ring-necked Ducks nest on floating mats of vegetation, either natural or man-made. Many ducks build nests directly on the ground. Wherever they nest, all ducks are precocial when hatched, meaning that within hours of leaving the egg, chicks are able to walk or swim behind their parents and self-feed.

Please remember that if you see a nest, leave it alone and protect it from cats and dogs. Watch the rearing of young from a distance. If you see babies on the ground, do not disturb them. Often, they are near fledging and the parents are protecting and/or feeding the chicks. If they are still downy and no parent is near, it is OK to return the chicks to the nest if you know the location. It is only a myth that parent birds will abandon chicks with a human scent. A last resort is to collect the chicks and take them to a licensed bird rehabilitation center. Not only is it against the law to attempt to raise them yourself, but most people do not have the knowledge or facility to successfully rear baby birds.

Enjoy the spring.

Nancy Wade is a member of Mat-Su Birders and Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center. Send birding questions for her column to alaskaflamingo@yahoo.com.