It’s nesting season and we’re appreciating it. We find a swan on her nest and watch for babies, and then try making a nest ourselves in the back garden. No baby birds spotted yet but we’ll add on to here when we find them.
230 – Spotting a nesting swan
Friday 16 May. Sunny. 20°C
We’re hunting for nesting swans. We’ve seen a few pairs but not found any on their nests yet but my mum has found one for us. We trot along after school, hoping she’ll still be there.
She is. She looks very patient. There are some geese nearby but she’s keeping a beady eye on them. We will keep checking back and hoping for cygnets.
The next day we walk round the bay and spot a coot on a nest too. We’re in the zone now. No more swans though. Maybe they’re hiding.
227 – Making a nest & 228 – Finding a home for it
Monday 19 May. Sunny. 20°C & Tuesday 20 May. Sunny. 20°C
We’ve got a new project. After spotting birds on nests over the weekend we’ve decided to make our own. Birds do it after all, how hard can it be?
We explore the garden and find lots of twigs, some old dead leaves (our garden’s not the tidiest), and some fluffy stuff we find in a corner. It’s been so dry we dig up some dust and add water to make mud. Then we find some flowers and leaves to decorate it.
We go for the twigs first and try and get them to stick together. After a while we get some wool and tie the corners (birds might be brighter than us after all). Once we’ve got it in a sort of structure we put some leaves in the middle and pour some mud on. Then we put more leaves and more mud and try and make a dent for eggs to go.
It’s fun. We could definitely have improved on our attention to detail. We try and make up for it by attaching the flowers and the leaves to the corners. Then we put it on a garden chair in the sun to dry out.
The next day it’s all ‘set’ and we think about where to put it. The garden tree is the obvious place. I try and persuade B to climb up and find somewhere. She doesn’t think this is a good idea.
“Just put it there!”
I look and see a branch. “It will fall down!”
“No, it won’t. That’s a good place.”
We try it and it fits beautifully and seems secure enough. I’m not sure though. “Wouldn’t it be better to find somewhere with a couple of branches so it’s secure?”
We have a stand off. In the end we agree I can climb the tree and see if I can find somewhere… and it turns out mummy’s are not always right. I try and put it up high on a ‘better’ branch and it twists, disintegrates and collapses in pieces on my head. B is very amused!
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