A surprising attempt at nest thievery.
I photographed this Bullock’s Oriole nest in a Netleaf Hackberry bush three days ago in northern Utah. The woven, pensile (hanging down) nests of Bullock’s Orioles are pretty distinctive and there was a pair of orioles flitting around within the bush and in its general vicinity.
Although I never got any decent photos of either oriole I did see the female oriole enter the nest at least once. With all the foliage surrounding the nest it was virtually impossible to get clear shots of the nest, much less of any birds entering it.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
There were also Western Kingbirds in and near the hackberry. This one had nesting material in her bill (only female kingbirds build nests) and she was perched on the edge of the same hackberry bush only a few feet away from the oriole nest. For obvious reasons I suspected the kingbirds also had a nest within the hackberry.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Kingbirds are pretty quick but I somehow managed to capture her during takeoff.
I expected her to deliver the nesting material to her own nest somewhere within the hackberry.
But instead I saw her entering the oriole nest with nesting material on two separate occasions – this is one of them. The top of the oriole nest (where the entrance would be) can be seen a couple of inches below her head. The kingbirds were quite active around the nest when the orioles weren’t there but at least once I saw both orioles chasing off one of the kingbirds.
It’s an understatement to say I was surprised to see kingbirds with nesting material in their bills entering an active oriole nest, although there have been rare instances documented of kingbirds using abandoned Northern Oriole nests. Kingbird nests are open, cup-shaped and bulky – very different from the more delicate, woven and pendulous oriole nests.
There was a lot going on in and near this hackberry bush. I watched as a Long-tailed Weasel on the ground beneath the hackberry seemed to watch all the activity at the nest and then it climbed the bush in an apparent effort to get at the nest. But hackberry branches are so twisted and convoluted the weasel appeared to have difficulty figuring out how to get to the nest so it eventually gave up and went back to the ground, disappearing in the vegetation.
I never got a single photo of the weasel. Those little killers are furtive and quick!
Ron
How rude is that? I guess all’s fair in nesting season 😉
BTW,I didn’t know the redtail nest was near a road! That’s not good for silly fledglings who aren’t yet clear on the flying/landing thing!
We used yo have an oriole nest i our weeping willow .an architectural, engineering marvel…big storm took tree and nest…no more orioles since.
I’ll bet you miss them, Patty.
I’ve never seen an Oriole nest although the Hooded adults are bringing their young ones to the yard for jelly so I’m sure there are one or two built in the many palms in this neighborhood (hanging on the underside of the fronds, similar in construction to yours). I’m with Marty, hope the Bullock’s pair prevail over the Kingbird (although she’s quite beautiful)…and glad that weaselly Weasel gave up! 😬
Chris, the weasel didn’t give up very easily but in the end he was flummoxed by the maze of hackberry branches that were his only pathway to the nest.
It will be interesting what you find on the next trip, kingbirds or orioles.
On a separate but similar note. In our outdoor aviary we have had white Eurasian doves share a nest with zebra finches. Both laying eggs and both sitting on the nest. The dove even sat on the parent zebra finches. We did not allow the eggs to hatch, we pulled the real eggs and gave them both dummy eggs, but it would have been interesting to see what had happened.
Now… that… is… weird, April. I couldn’t have even imagined such a thing.
I’m rooting for the orioles. I hope the kingbirds catch a clue and put their efforts into building their own nest. Although, I wonder if there’s something “off” about the oriole nest and that’s why the kingbirds think it’s up for grabs.
It’s been a scorcher here too, although the temps backed off a bit by the coast today. Our hottest months are August and September; I’m NOT looking forward to it if we’re this hot in June. We’ve already had some fires in the area too.
Marty, we’ve been getting about one new fire a day for a while now. An ominous trend for our even hotter future.
The nest is an architectural marvel. That bit of fluff in the Kingbird’s beak seems hopelessly ludicrous as an addition. Perhaps the heat is affecting her behavior. I know it would mine.
Agreed, it’s a pretty small bit of nesting material, Lyle. But on other trips she was carrying larger bits of the same material – some kind of soft stuff for the interior bowl of the nest.
What fascinating sights to see – though I do feel for the oriole family. It seems that their home is NOT their castle (though I do hope they can defend it).
I shudder at that temperature though and hope that it doesn’t set a precedent for the season.
EC, July is our hottest month of the year. The heat is only beginning.
I was surprised that your kingbird differs so much from our Eastern Kingbird…with it being black and white. One of my favorites to watch flying out from his post, grabbing something in flight and flying back to his post…many times being a dried stalk of mullein..(vs a metal post.) They certainly don’t seem to mind having an audience either. Strange that the kingbird was ‘feathering the oriole’s nest’…nice catch to make us ponder why… 🙂
Kathy, we get Eastern Kingbirds here too. We’re lucky in that regard.
Very interesting behavior. Western Kingbirds sure are pretty — not as flashy as the Bullocks, but still have nice coloring and form. And a weasel, too! Lots of active predators checking out nests these days. Thanks Ron, as always.
Dang those weasley weasels are hard to photograph, Kathryn. I’ve seen several of them lately but nary a shot of any of them.
Word of the day “pensile.” Very educational post today Ron!
Good. Thanks, Kathleen.
Ditto to Judy’s WOW !! I was wowed by the whole story – and educated. Have never seen an Oriole’s nor Kingbird’s nest. I have taken photos of both species, but always in the open, never near a nesting area. The photos of the Kingbirds are outstanding. Excellent post.
Everett, Western Kingbird nests are pretty common around here but I think oriole nests are much harder to spot, at least when there’s leaves on the trees.
WOW! What “goings on” in the neighborhood! 😳 Nature is dynamic and adaptive for sure – we just not see most of it. Glad you were able to witness it. 🙂 Wonder if the Western King just nested on top or actually blocked the entrance to the nest? Also glad the little assassin missed breakfast there.. 😉
“Reasonable” temps (high of 79 predicted for today) returning this week – maybe?
Thanks, Judy.
Crazy hot here. Yesterday we tied our all-time record for any date – 107°.
Hit 100 Mon. and yesterday was 95 at 10 a.m. and stayed there until evening when a “cool” front arrived with blast furnace winds. 🙁 In theory, tho windy, low 80’s will be it for the rest of the week – “doable”. Don’t even want to think about July and August – probably snow…… 😉