Nesting Birds in the Winter?

What birds build their nests this time of year?

About two weeks ago when staying down on the farm,

 I spotted this nest high in a pine tree.

Here's a closer look at it...

It slightly resembles an eagle's nest, but seems to be a lot smaller.

It's hard to tell, but I think it's only one and a half or two feet in diameter.

(You may recall all those eagle posts I did last year!)

However, I'm wondering if this nest might be a crow's nest...

I haven't spotted the residents yet...

Before the snow, I also saw wrens and chickadees checking out 

one of my birdhouses.

Hmmmm...  Are they just scouting?

Since the snow yesterday, my feeders have been BUSY!

Well, maybe I should say it's been just as busy BELOW my feeders!

Here's a few of my visitors:

The road runner came back again for a visit just before the snow...

And so did the woodpecker.

Oooops, I think he saw me!

But neither of them

were after the seeds

in my feeder.

The white throated sparrow with feathers all puffed out preferred picking the seeds that had fallen to  the ground in the snow rather than eating at the feeder.

The rufous sided towhee was also more at home in the tree...

..or on the ground scratching for seeds that had fallen. He had a little trouble hanging on to the feeder!

Here's another songbird (Fox Sparrow?) that preferred scratching seeds out of the snow rather than using the feeder.

I sure hope the neighbor's cats don't make a visit!

This hawk also clears the birds away in a hurry!

If you happen to be following my nephew's journey in his fight against

glioblastoma brain cancer,

he has started a blog, and you can find it HERE!

I've pretty much had him on my mind,

and I guess it's reflected in the Names of God that

I have chosen to paint on rocks the past few weeks.

You can find my latest Rock4Today HERE!

Thanks for your visit,

and thanks for your prayers for my nephew Joel and his family!

To view some find bird photography from around the world,
click HERE to take you to Stewart Monckton's Gallery.

Snake skins as nest filler?

A few weeks ago as I cleaned out my blue bird house,

I was shocked to find a snake skin intertwined in an old nest.

Last year I had hoped for a blue bird to build its nest in my box,

but had never noticed any nesting going on.

Bluebirds had come and looked at it,

but I didn't think it had met with their qualifications.
If they raised babies there, I hadn't seen them!

So as I removed the old nest,

I wondered what bird had resided there last year.
AND...
What bird would use snake skins as their nesting material?!!!

So, yesterday I was surprised to see a pair of birds checking out the box.
It was the Nuthatches!

I wondered if they had been the tenants from last year.
Were they the ones who had used the snake skins in building their nest?
If so, is this a usual practice?
Was it good nesting material,
or did it keep other predators away?

The female went in and out of the box multiple times,
while the male scurried around the outside
appearing to check the surroundings.

When the female stayed inside the box for a prolonged period of time.
the impatient male poked his head in to check on her.

"Whatcha doing in there, honey?"
he seemed to be saying.
"Do you think this is the right place to build a nest?"

I'm not sure what her answer was,
but she looked pretty satisfied.
It remains to be seen if that's where they choose to raise their babies!

Because I am no expert,
seeing God's hand in nature reminds me of this verse from Luke 10:21,
, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way."

...And this verse from Psalm 84:3:
"Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God! "


To see the Name for God painted on Rocks for this week, click   HERE!