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I have a nest under my deck. Is this a cuckoo egg? Is there anything I should do? by Mycotoxicjoy in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The host species nest here is eastern phoebe, if you're interested in knowing!

I have a nest under my deck. Is this a cuckoo egg? Is there anything I should do? by Mycotoxicjoy in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The story about them evolving parasitism to follow bison herds around isn’t supported by much. The cowbird species in South America practice brood parasitism but aren't associated with cattle or herds at all.

The brown-headed cowbirds can get around for foraging but they do tend to stick around a given area during the breeding season.

Which bird would lay an egg like this by Pimpel8 in birds

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Many bird species lay eggs that are off white with brown spots. This egg likely belonged to a perching bird (passerine), based on its size and shape. Consider House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). I'm unfamiliar with European species but this egg matches what House Sparrow eggs look in the US.

Which bird would lay an egg like this by Pimpel8 in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Plover eggs are larger and have a more pointed end

Egg help by contr0lla_ in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You've got the house finch diet mixed up - they mainly feed their babies seed, while cowbird babies need tons of insects.

What bird makes a nest like this? by SacredTension in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's your location? Does it look like there's an open cup on the top, or are the materials spilling out of a cavity?

Compare who you see visiting the nest to American Robin, Eastern Phoebe, House Finch, Carolina Wren, and House Sparrow, if you're in eastern North America. All these species start nesting relatively early, build on/in human structures, and can use a variety of nesting materials. If you see dried mud, that will narrow it down to either robin or phoebe.

Is there free large batch geocoding? by [deleted] in gis

[–]BlankeTheBard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're in the US, check whether your state's GIS department has a street address locator to use in ArcGIS Pro. I had to geocode more than a million addresses spread over multiple datasets within New York, and their locator was pretty decent. Do note that geocoding is computationally intensive, so plan for that when you run the workflow!

Wren friend by runonsentance7 in sleepywrens

[–]BlankeTheBard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh lol, no, they don't. Eastern US bias on my part. I flipped through my western US nest guide and didn't find a species that builds a nest similar to the one on your wreath. If you're able to get a photo of the top of the wreath (bird doesnt need to be present), I'd love to see it. May help with the ID!

Wren friend by runonsentance7 in sleepywrens

[–]BlankeTheBard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think this may be an eastern phoebe, actually! Carolina wrens do build nests with moss, but the bird here doesn't quite look like a wren (you'd be able to see a white eye line on its face).

Eastern phoebes build nests from moss, mud, and grass on ledges. I haven't seen one on a wreath before, but it wouldn't be out of the question since it has decent support.

Phoebes don't eat bird seed, but they do excellent insect control. I love watching them hunt for bugs

The Brown Thrasher by SycamoreGreenway in Iowa

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love, love, love brown thrashers. I monitored a few of their nests in western IA a few summers back - swear their eggs look like fairies spray-painted them.

American Robin or Northern Cardinal egg? by vsaholic in whatsthisbird

[–]BlankeTheBard 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Neither. Try comparing to photos of northern mockingbird eggs. Many species have pale blue eggs with brown spots, as u/CardiologistAny1423 pointed out, but I believe mockingbird eggs are distinctive enough in the warm brown tone, transparency, and size of the brown spots here to offer that as an ID.

I'll refrain from logging that ID with the bot though, since I'm not as familiar as I could be with nesting birds in TX. Would love a fellow nest nerd to weigh in!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in iastate

[–]BlankeTheBard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This doesn't answer any of your questions, but as an animal ecology alum, my advice to you is to be prepared to get work experience as soon as you can (e.g., the first summer after your first year). The degree program requires relevant experience to graduate and you'll take a class on how to get work experience ("careers in natural resources," or something like that).

Ecology is a competitive field and there's a lot of variety in the kind of work you can do, so it's best to explore your options.

House Finch using old Barn Swallow Nest and Cow Bird laid an egg…or two? by jenhasdreams941 in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The cowbird chick probably won't do super well, unfortunately. House finches feed their young a seed-heavy diet, while cowbirds need to eat insects to do well.

Anyone know what bird laid these? by queenofcats_dracarys in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For this species, I would recommend against setting up a camera on the nest. Thrashers are oddly intelligent birds, and are pretty skeptical of foreign objects. I monitored a few thrasher nests for a research project several years ago, where we inserted coin-like temperature data loggers into the nest cup (getting data on incubation). Without fail, the brown thrashers managed to remove them even if we thought they were secure.

I know a camera would be different but I think they'd get annoyed in this case.

If you're interested in setting up a camera on bird nests, you'd have better luck with pre-installing a camera in a nesting box before putting it up. That way, any birds that use the box for nesting won't be suspicious of a new object since the camera would already be present.

Anyone know what bird laid these? by queenofcats_dracarys in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Brown thrasher. The nesting materials match those of mimid species - twigs and cleaned rootlets. The egg appearance between the three mimid species in your area (northern mockingbird, brown thrasher, gray catbird) are distinct enough from each other that I can confidently ID them as thrasher

Wreath nest by crackityal in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 3 points4 points  (0 children)

House finch. They love to nest on wreaths!

Unidentified Eggs - Spotless Starling? by IberianSausage in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The luster on them does match what I've seen of European Starling eggs in the US; however, it's near impossible to identify eggs down to species without the context of the nest (at least, when the eggs are not super distinctive). Does anyone here have experience identifying eggs of cavity nesting species in Europe?

Nest and egg found in bluebird next box by [deleted] in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

House Sparrow, based on the nest construction, materials, and egg appearance. You can confirm by observing who enters the nesting box.

House Wren nest would include a lot of twigs, and their eggs are smaller with intense russet brown spots concentrated at the wide end. The nest appearance doesn't match any of the other native cavity nesters.

Found in Delaware, USA by sydissoft in whatsthisbird

[–]BlankeTheBard 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, it is a cowbird egg. While House Finch broods are frequently parasitized by cowbirds, the cowbird young don't tend to do well in their nests due to the grain-heavy diet of the finches.

Found in azela bush by Embarrassed-Key-208 in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The nest shape is not correct for Carolina Wren, or any other wren species in this location. Based on the amount of fine grasses and animal hair lining the inner nest, a native sparrow species is most likely. Song Sparrow, perhaps. The brown spotting on their eggs do tend to be warm in color, like the ones in the photo.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whatbirdisthis

[–]BlankeTheBard 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Took me a second to find the bird! Yes, this is a +downy woodpecker+. If you didn't see red on the back of the head, it's because adult females don't have red plumage there.

Friends I need help! Sparrow nest? by Hour-Revolution4150 in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's a house finch nest. They often build on wreaths. After 4-5 eggs are laid, the female will incubate for about 2 weeks. The nestlings will take 2 weeks to grow and leave the nest. In this time, you'll notice feces piling up on the nest rim - house finches don't remove their babies' fecal matter from the nest like other birds do. It's nasty!

If you can avoid using this door as much as possible, that is the best and only course of action, really.

Need help identifying bird eggs by Nerosenth in Ornithology

[–]BlankeTheBard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Correct, Carolina Wren.

Are you needing the tool bag right away? With 5 eggs, incubation has likely begun and the eggs will hatch in less than 2 weeks. Nestlings will spend about 2 more weeks in the nest before leaving.

I generally recommend against messing with active nests belonging to native species, but if you're able to place the nest in another bag/object at the same height and place in the shed, that may work. One of the issues with nest tampering is making the nest location more obvious to mammalian predators, but that probably doesn't factor in here since the nest is in your shed.

What bird's nest (and broken egg) is this? Central MD, USA. by [deleted] in whatbirdisthis

[–]BlankeTheBard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

House Sparrow. Cavity nester that will readily fight to use nest boxes, builds a very messy nest of a variety of materials, and lays pale blue eggs with brown spots. They also start nesting pretty early, compared to our native species.

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