I discovered several bird nests suspended from tree branches along the edge of a lake in my hometown. Pendant nests are commonly constructed by birds who specialize in weaving pliable natural materials together to create a place to lay eggs and rear their young. A well built nest keeps the eggs warm and dry while they are incubating, and protects young birds from severe weather and predators.
The unusual thing about these pendant nests is that they are built almost entirely from fishing line. Resourceful birds collect fishing line which they find and use it as their primary building material. These photos were taken in the middle of winter, so any natural materials which were incorporated into the nests could have decomposed, but from what is left, we can see that fishing line was a major component in the structures.
The nest to the left caught my eye. It just seemed to be more alluring then others I found (pause for a loud groan). I can’t believe I wrote that.
At this point, I do not know what type of bird has built these nests, but I will definitely keep an eye on the area once Spring comes along, and I should be able to discover the identity of this avian recycler.
Before dutch elm disease came along we had 200+ year old elms on the street I grew up on and Baltimore Orioles used to build nests in them that looked much like those in your photos. They are fruit eaters and hang out where there are a lot of wild fruits available. I never saw them use fishing line though!
I did find some photos of other fishing line bird nests on-line, and one did mention orioles as the builders. There also appears to be plenty of berries in the area. I will try to confirm the nest builders this Spring. Thanks for the help, Allen.
I agree, they look like oriole nests, but is there more than one in the same tree? Orioles aren’t usually that sociable.
There are some trees that have more than one nest, but since fishing line takes quite a while to deteriorate, it’s possible there are more than one abandoned nest from previous years in the same area.
Thanks for stopping by, Sue!
Hats off to the birds! Plastic fishing line is really nasty stuff… except when it’s used to build nests. I hope you can post a picture of the inhabitants in the springtime.
Finn, I’m glad you pointed out the danger that fishing line,can pose to the habitats of birds. Plastics as well as other slow degrading materials can entangle wildlife with disasterous results.
These birds have turned a negative into a positive by collecting and utilizing the fishing line, thereby making it less likely to become a problem for other critters.
It’s a great outcome – plastics are not good to anything except humans, so it’s good to see a positive result there.