Ya, really cute. Could not fly and was learning actually. The video was so cute...it was hopping and falling all over the ground. According to wildlife it takes roughly about half an hour to 45 mins to learn by parents guidance. I never thought of wildlife but I am so glad my daughter was thinking ahead of me..

jin

Happy the baby bird got back to the nest. Hooray for your daughter!

I've found hummingbird, warbler, house finch, and towhee nests in my roses. 'Tamora' is especially popular.

All the nests we find are lined with white dog hair. Plenty of that around here.

What an adorable picture of your pups, hoovb. The birdies would be foolish not to avail themselves of this source for a supremely warm and cozy nest.

Hoovb, that is funny how you found all the nest has lining of your dogs' hair. Smart birds !! Cozy too :)
Both your dogs are beautiful and they look so huggable :)

jin

I encourage them

See https://theherbladyblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/sparrows-in-the-rose-garden.

Hoovb, the last nest I found out at my garden,in Guirlande Rose, seems to have long grey hairs in it, that look almost silvery. I wonder if this could posibly be MY hair-most of it fell out while I was doing chemotherapy,and it had turned quite grey. If it is, I hope it's a good, magical sign of hope for the future. I do save the nests, since I've found them whilst pruning/taming roses that have gotten out-of-hand, and I'm not sure if birds ever re-cycle them anyway. Do any of you know?

I haven't found them in my roses but they aren't that big. We have had cardinals nesting in gardenia and a bunny in my plumeria. Little house wrens nest in my ferns.

Another Robin just finished building a nest on the same fence line about 20 feet from mom and warrior kids..... I hope the young survive as there is little coverage over their heads and we have hawks, eagles, ravens in the area.

Never saw a bird nest but did have an itty bitty toad sleeping in a blossom once :-)

A robin red breast built a nest in my Awakening on a trellis.

Some other grey bird in a tea olive shrub.

Another nest in my wisteria vine on the fence.

Many birds residing in such a small yard!

So far I've found 5 Robin nest in the roses, 2 on the front fence and 3 along side the house. All but 1 within 4 feet of the ground.

Jeri, I too enjoyed the picture of your garden.

I find that birds do not seem to be interested in roses as food sources and have never had them eat the hips. As for nesting, perhaps I pay too much attention to the plants and they feel the nests would be disturbed, which might be true, even if by accident. Here I see a lot of hummingbirds and juncos, as well as occasional visits from other birds which I have not identified. The hummers like all the salvias and other tube shaped flowers. The juncos can be found merrily scratching in the debris on the ground. I love them both. I also love the little fence lizards which are helping to protect us from Lyme disease. Thank you, fence lizards!

I have found birds nests in the grape arbor and once found one on the ground. It was empty. I suspect some predator found it before I did.

And just the other day I identified a varied thrush in the garden. Probably been around all this time, but I just noticed it.

At our old place, in 2016 doves nested in a hanging plant. i was lucky enough to see the babies take their first flights!

Here, for the last few days I’ve seen a small brown bird — wish I knew what it was — taking threads from the same basket and flying off with them. Glad to know I’m helping them nest.

We get lizards too. Mosquito eaters! Yay!

Mockingbirds eat the hips of Darlow's Enigma during the winter here, during breaks when there are no Pyracantha or Toyon berries. Squirrels like the hips on Lyda Rose and also Golden Wings.

Birds love those coco fiber basket liners. They have one of mine stripped down to just a tiny piece remaning lol. All the dirt and begonia bulbs in there have long fallen out.

And yet another Robin nest..... here are 3 shots of the building process. 1 arriving with building material, placement, and off for another load.

Last month, I posted that, when we pruned, we found an empty nest under 'Mel's Heritage' and 'Sombreuil, Cl.'

We've had a lot of Mockingbird traffic, lately, so I wasn't surprised to learn that there's a new, larger nest, next to last year's model --

And a very, very indignant Mama Mocker, who requested that I leave.

For several years, there was a robin nest high up in Quadra. This spring, I found an old nest in R. hugonis. So the birds do like the big roses.

Those titmouse babies are very lucky. How sweet to catch momma in the act.

I still do not have any birds nesting in my yard.... I did have a crane walking by for the last two days.... and I have some egrets coming maybe once a week.... I think they are coming now that my collie is gone.... I would rather have my collie.... but will take birds..... hopefully in the fall when it cools down I can get a some song birds. I am enjoying the pictures of the birds, their babies and their nest.

Should anyone be considering providing the birds with building material please DON’T put any Easter egg basket grass out. A few years back I found a robin hanging on our wooden fence all twisted up in the fake grass. They can handle regular grass but not the plastic stuff.

Update on the new Robin nest….. 3 eggs and counting…. soon to have young ones.

Mom robin ran off a squirrel today that got too close. That squirrel escaped with his life!!! Boy was she mad… lol

I'd take a picture of the eggs, but mom didn't raise any fools so I'm keeping my distant.

I love birds in the rose garden. I have birdhouses, birdbaths and feeders. I love the Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers. Lots of little Black Capped Chickadees and Barn Finches and the little Dark Eyed Juncos who feed on the ground are so friendly. There's always a Robin's nest in John Cabot. The Blue Bird houses are always occupied. Carol, at Northland, rescued an abandoned robin one year just before they left on vacation, so she gave it to my grandson who was living with us to take care of. Robbie was always on his shoulder or head while he studied. My grandson went home for summer and left Robbie in my care. When I set him free, he hung around and followed me in the garden and sat on the hose while I watered. I put a small basket under a big rugosa for protection and he stayed there until he was ready to fly. One day, he just took off and called to me from the tall pines around the yard. He came back throughout the summer with a flock, but would break away from his companions to visit with me in the garden. I miss that crazy bird.

The Robin's nest in John Cabot

A tiny, 2" Junco nest I found under a lavender plant. The eggs were not much bigger than Tic Tac mints.

Robbie on my grandson's head.....

... and on one of his visits home after he'd flown away. I always knew it was him because of the white mark on his beak.

Sharon, this was way more than you asked for in your question. Forgive me for getting carried away.

flowersaremusic NOT at all more than I asked for... I love the stories and pictures.... I think it is WONDERFUL that Robbie comes back for a visit.... I would love to have this happen in my garden... You are so blessed to have had the chance to rescue little Robbie.

Oh no, not another robin nesting in the roses….. Yep-per, in fact she is using her old nest that was in the trellis. I almost removed that nest, sure glad I didn’t.

Sharon, just keep feeding the birds and providing them with water…. a heated birdbath in the winter will also keep them coming back. Just make sure it’s plugged into a GFI outlet. The type I use has it own thermostat so all I have to do is plug it in come Fall and unplug when Spring arrives. Plan on cleaning it out each day come rain, shine, or snow….. sometimes twice a day.

toolbelt I live in Florida I don't think I will need a heated birdbath.... but maybe I can add an ice cube in the summer..... :)

by the way I can't create any new threads on the forum.... I am not getting errors... the post seems to go through.... I get to the page after I choose which forums to add my title.... and I hit continue.... it ask me if I want to be notified or not notified and it STAYS on that page... at the bottom of that page it says it has been posted, but there are no other buttons .... you can't leave the page unless you reload the page... or hit the back button or hit the link to go to the forum.... the question I post is NOT there... been trying for a couple of days now.... no errors... or messages to me.... I have rebooted my computer NADA.... something is wrong or has changed and won't work... I am using Firefox browser.

I moved into a new house last fall, not sure what kind, there are three rose bushes that will need to be trimmed. One has a finch nest that was very active earlier this spring. Loved watching the babies take over another flowering bush next to the roses. My question is, can I trim the rose bush back in the fall without disturbing the nest? Will the finches come back and nest again next spring?

Flowers, I love your story about Robbie, and your photos are priceless, especially the one of Robbie perched atop your grandson's head. Diane

Flowers,

What a wonderful story, I’m so glad you shared it. That little bird remembered the good care he received.

Such beautiful pics !!

Shanda , go ahead and trim away in the fall. Most of the time they’ll build a fresh nest . It’s no trouble to them . :)

Encourage them for all my insect control

see https://theherbladyblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/sparrows-in-the-rose-garden/

I've got a mourning dove nest in my Mel's Heritage this spring. Have to try to take a picture later. The nest is more so on the arbor, but is surrounded and protected by Mel. Didn't realize it was there until the bird startled me a couple of times passing under the arbor.

-Chris

Can you see the eyeball peeking out?

Maybe birds will nest in my MAC someday! I've never seen any signs of birds in my roses, but I did have a nest of house finches in a front door wreath at my last house. I cordoned off the porch and put up a sign telling visitors to use the kitchen door until the young birds had flown. The really cool part about the wreath nest was that it was hanging against a glass door, so that our family could see the babies' heads from inside the entry hall! Carol

I like these stories. I stumble across nests occasionally, never new ones, mostly in other shrubs than roses. There was an enchanting one all lined with moss in the middle of 'Rose de Rescht'. The plant is a mature shrub, so fairly big, and it has a dense, upright habit and is nicely thorny: perfect nesting habitat. We have cats and we don't have many birds; could there be a connection? I love all our small wildlife, birds, lizards, insects, snakes, the occasional frog or toad. I don't use -cides and allow considerable untidiness and growth of native plants, and perhaps for these reasons the animal life is flourishing, as well as fungi and lichens.

This is a wonderful thread!

Robins nesting in a rose bush at the back the house

I still do not have birds nesting in my roses....

I have a planted some popcorn cassia and have lots of yellow sulfur butterflies and so I now get some cardinals who like to chow down on their caterpillars....

But I have a few water foul that have been visiting my garden. The big white bird likes to eat roses and snapdragons.... the gray guy just comes and looks,

As I remarked above, we have dozens and dozens of birds in our garden, and most nest in the very large shrubs. We have seen fledglings of house finches, blue jays, and about 6 other kinds of birds so far this season (you can tell who they are becasue they chase the parent birds around begging to be fed " NO more - time for you to get a job!". One funny thing - there was actually a birds nest (I think a robin) in a rose tree (standard)! It was a standard of Peach Drift, and very thick and fluffy, but I would not have thought someone would have put a nest in it!

Jackie

Sharon, your water foul make up for lack of more common birds. They're exotic looking.

This Robin's nest is tucked in a clematis. I'm not sure I will disturb it until the nest is abandoned. Robins use the same nest as long as it's there. I like to think they're descendants of Robbie. It's a fact that Robin families stay in the same general area all their lives.

House Finches used a decorative metal bird house by my back door. I can't imagine how hot it got in there. I was afraid those new hatchlings would be roasted. No photo.

I've only found a nest once or twice since this post started two years ago. I suspect it is because of our two terriers. Their preferred prey is rodents, but they will go after any small animal. I was cleaning up some weeds hiding in the base of a largeish climbing rose when I discovered a nest. Immediately I called the dogs into the house, but they got the birds anyway. I felt really bad about that.

Rosefolly, it does take you aback and you start thinking how you could have done it differently. Your dogs were just being dogs. After my husband cleaned the rain gutters last year, I started finding tiny baby birds and even a nest on the ground. I couldn't imagine how or why or where they were coming from until it hit me that he grabs handfuls of debris inside the gutters and tosses it on the ground, without actually being able to see what he's grabbing. He had no idea he had disturbed a nest and felt terrible when he saw them. The mortality rate for birds is alarming because of things like that, pets, weather, mama birds rejecting her babies, falling from the nest, predators and even from people trying to 'help' them.

I'm glad that this thread has been revived. It is heartening that so many people's gardens are welcoming habitats for songbirds when their numbers are in decline due in part to loss of habitat. A cardinal nested in our shrub rose, Amber Flower Carpet, this June. AFC is a very uncarpetlike rose that's around 5' high and considerably wider- maybe 6-7 ft. or so. This rose is dense and big enough not to need protection from deer brousing. Our sunroom windows overlook the garden so we got to watch the baby birds hatch then grow up. We have plenty of birds nesting in our yard and garden since we live on the edge of a woods but never one in a rose till now.

Sharon - no way! LOL That white crane eats your roses? I would never have thought they would. How strange!

Flowers - that nest is so precious with the BLUE egg and the hungry chicks!!! :) :)

rosecanadian I know right? Who would have thought that they ate roses.... I thought grass, fish etc... but not roses... but he certainly likes the roses... I saw him on more than one occasion pluck a whold rose off the push... and he has yanked snapdragons out by the roots.... but I like him anyway.

It is strange what animals and birds will eat. When my daughter was little I was filming her for a kindergarten project on Zebra longwing butterflies... She had been told by authorities and had read that birds will not eat zebra lw catapillars ... so she is pointing out a bird sitting on the fence and saying to the camera that he would not eat the cats.... but right then and there he flew over picked up one up and ate it... I got the whole thing on camera.... her face was priceless.

LOL What a sweet story about your daughter and the caterpillar eating bird that shouldn't have eaten that caterpillar. LOL

And your crane even pulls snapdragons out by the roots!! LOL What a mischief maker!!

A couple things I do to help the birds during their nesting time is give them places to build their nest. Doves only put down a couple sticks before laying their eggs so I give them platforms that are sort of saucer shaped — to keep the eggs in the nest. I just take 1/4 in square screen, cut a 8x8 inch piece and bend the ends over canes so it doesn’t fall. Also works great on metal arches. I also place them up under the over hang of the roof on our buildings. That way they are out of the rain. Make sure they have more than one easy escape opening.

Robins like the roses but they do need a bunch of the canes close to each other so they can place their nest in the ‘hole’. You may want to tie some canes together if your bushes don’t have any. Also if you have a cane sticking straight up with off shoots that form a cone just cut the center cane out leaving just the cone. They can build their nest in it without it falling out.

Wrens will fill your bird houses with small sticks so other birds can't use them if the houses are close to each other.

Toolbelt - that's exactly what I found in a gourd nest I put out one year. It was filled with small sticks. How neat to find out why! Thanks!

We live close to a lot of water so we have about every bird going…. even Eagles. The big black birds (Ravens) seem to patrol the area looking for nests to rob of the young. They even go up under the porch roof of our neighbors to get at robin nests.

Our next door neighbor has a couple starlings that go into their kitchen stove outside vent to build their nest. The big black birds can’t get in the vent that is on the side of the house so they are safe.

That being said what we need is a type of nesting platform that allows us to control who gets to the nests. Anyone know someone who is an inventor, if so ……