The Birds Certainly Do It

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) throwing out some wood chips from a nest cavity. Both birds were working on the excavation, and defending it from cavity-stealing Starlings. One of a pair of tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea) crafting a nest of spider webs and lichen. Yes, that’s right, spider webs and lichen.Meanwhile, having gotten the jump on practically everybody, early nesting Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) already have young ones clamoring for food.

And the bees evidently do it, too, although rather differently. A feral honeybee hive was just a few trees away from the Blue-grays.