I don’t know for sure if there were babies in this nest on Monday, but this adult Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) kept bending forward into the nest, including the moment in the first image when it had what looked to be an insect in its mouth. Was it feeding some young ones? I have seen numerous photos this spring of baby birds with wide open mouths and I have been longing to capture some images like that.
Several weeks ago I watched as two gnatcatchers worked on this nest at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge here in Northern Virginia. I marveled at their patience and at their amazing craftsmanship. They would bring small bits of material into the nest (spider webs and lichen from what I have read) and place them carefully. Then they would rotate their bodies while sitting in the nest to compact the material.
It was a bit of a challenge to capture these shots. I was shooting upwards and there was a leafy canopy that filtered out a lot of the light. I also tried really hard not to disturb the birds, so I kept my distance, avoided using flash, and limited the time that I was shooting.
Are there babies in the nest? If they are not there now, they should be coming soon. I will be sure to check out the nest when I return to this little wetland refuge some time in the near future and maybe then I will be able to capture shots of the little ones being fed.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Grow up and do your thing, baby!
They grow up so quickly these days. 🙂
Benjamin recognized the lichen before I finished reading the post to him : “That is the bestest nest of lichen and stuff, the babies will love it.” We were able to watch the construction of a nest by Robin’s this Spring,beneath the gutter helmet at the very end over the deck. I’m surrounded by trees and this is where they choose to build every year. We love these photos. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Beautiful nest with the lichen!
That bird with its angular head shape and big eyes, and the beautiful nest, make such a great partnership for a photo. Wonderful photo. Such a pleasure to see thanks Mike!
[…] that show the amazing construction abilities of these little birds. Check out the posting called Baby gnatcatchers? by clicking on the title of the posting or clicking here. The nests are fascinating to […]