[Tweeters] Bushtit nesting question

[Elaine Chuang via Tweeters]

Hello Jill.  Thank you for your question, a timely one.  As announced in Tweeters earlier this week, Dr. Sarah Sloane will be our WOS Monthly Meeting speaker (via Zoom) on Monday, Feb 3 (go to  https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ <https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/>  for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link).  Sarah is not a member of the Tweeters listserv, but you may reach her via her academic page:  https://www.umf.maine.edu/about/faculty-staff/sarah-sloane/  Or come join us on Feb 3 and pose the question then.

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Elaine Chuang   elc at uw dot edu 
Tweeters Administration
Seattle



From: on behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2025 5:48 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Bushtit nesting question
 
Is Sarah Sloane on this list?

I have some bushtits who keep building their nest in a very low hanging conifer branch directly above the driveway to an apartment building. Some years it hangs low enough that, if a truck pulled into the driveway, it would bang into the nest. I spend the entire season wracked with anxiety that someone, or something, is going to lop that branch off while there are nestlings in the nest. This is for sure a nest that is actually in use most years, not a decoy. I see them busily going in and out during peak season.

It occurred to me at the end of last summer that maybe I could just lop that branch off, during the winter, so they’d have to rebuild higher up this year. Of course, they might go pick some other numbskull place to nest, but at least this particular tree (which seems to be a favorite) would not offer such risky options.

I wanted to make sure, before I got out the pruners, that they don’t use their nests year round (for warmth) and, even though they sometimes renovate last year’s nest, they’d be fine having to start from scratch if last year’s nest (and branch) went away.

Thanks!
Jill



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       Elaine

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