Life of a Biologist
From the Field to the Lab
Cassandra Ziegler
Cassandra Ziegler
Have you ever found a bird nest before? If so, do you know what bird species it belonged to? Do you remember the color of the egg(s)? Where the nest was? What it was made with? I didn’t start noticing bird nests until I was in my 20s. I’m sure there were plenty of nests in my backyard growing up but I was completely oblivious to them until birds became such a large part of my life in college. I was one of the lucky individuals that was being paid to watch birds and to find their nests. Didn’t know that was a job, did you? Unfortunately, it’s only a temporary job when birds are breeding in the spring and summer. In 2010, I was a biology major at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and was part of an undergraduate research program that gave me the opportunity to explore research being conducted by the biology department faculty and allowed me to conduct my own research for the first time. My first experience with field research was studying Golden-winged Warblers in central Pennsylvania. This meant that I was working and hiking outside Monday through Friday from about 6am-4pm searching for these particular birds and their nests. Jealous? It was hard work but it was beautiful, I was spending my days surrounded by nature, and I was able to see and learn so much. If you aren’t familiar with them, Golden-winged Warblers are secretive ground-nesting birds that can make finding their nests very difficult unless you are very patient and observant. I was beyond excited when I discovered my first nest. It was just this tiny cup, almost touching the ground (but not quite) attached to goldenrod, made with leaves and grasses, and with more grasses and ferns surrounding it to hide it. And the eggs? So small, which is to be expected from a 10 gram (0.35 oz) bird. The eggs are pale white/pinkish in color with some small brown speckles on them. A female will typically lay anywhere from 3-6 eggs at a time, but most nests I found had an average of 3-4 eggs. Little did I know that while I was looking for these particular nests that I would also find more nests from several other bird species and how different they would all be from each other. Some of the nests I found were from a Cliff Swallow, a Tree Swallow, and an Eastern Whip-poor-will. The Cliff Swallow builds its nest out of mud, creating a jug-like appearance with a hole for entering and exiting. These swallows tend to form large colonies of nests next to each other so I found dozens of these nests under a small overpass. Then, near a lake, there were several Tree Swallow nest boxes set up that are occupied by pairs of these beautiful birds. Like the Cliff Swallows, these birds are cavity nesters but lack the ability to make their own cavities to nest in so they take advantage of old woodpecker cavities and nest boxes that are placed for them. And finally, one of my favorite nests to have ever found, was the Eastern Whip-poor-will. This is because they are nocturnal birds AND they don’t truly make nests. They nest on dead leaves on the ground near shrubs or saplings for shade, using their brown coloration to blend in with their surroundings to go unnoticed. How cool is that evolutionary advantage? The only reason I even found it was because I accidentally scared the female from the nest when I got too close and spotted the 2 eggs she was incubating. Since my first field season, I’ve encountered a lot more nests but I also think I may not have noticed many of them if I hadn’t started studying birds as closely as I do. I could go on about the other nests I’ve seen but I don’t want to give away the surprise of you finding them. So, this upcoming spring I challenge you to search for at least one bird nest and to explore what species it belongs to, where you found it, and what materials were used to make it.
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AuthorBird Enthusiast and Graduate Student Archives
February 2024
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