Yesterday I returned to Oaks Bottom and walked all the way from the southern end to the north and back. Today I returned to just the southern end and found nests......
This is a quick recap (joined today by a student from PSU);
1. PPRX is building a nest with an unbanded female very near to his nest in 2018 and right next to the nest he briefly took over last year. It's also very near where I saw him with the flock on 9 March. This nest is just a hanging sack so far, on the outer edge of a very large cedar. Lots of little chases and such with at least one other bird in the area could mean that, on closer inspection, this nest isn't really PPRX's at all. We'll see!!
2. A young birder extraordinaire (who will remain nameless until I get his permission) found a nest yesterday that is almost finished on the slope about half-way between the southern field and the mortuary building. Both birds are unbanded (so far).
3. We found another new and barely there nest hanging over some brambles that had a very successful nest last year. This new one is being build by an unbanded pair and is just a ring of spider web and lichen. It's in the lower branches of a giant pine on a slope along the Bluff Trail.
4. And finally the puzzle....actually TWO puzzles. W-X (this time a female) and an unbanded male are apparently refurbishing a nest we had last year on the edge of the southern field of Oaks Bottom. Two things are a puzzle. First, this is W-X, but not the male I saw with PPRX two days ago. This is a female. Now, both of these W-X birds hatched last year in a nest on the edge of this field (dad was PYLX) and are siblings. The big puzzle is I have never had a first-year female breeding in her natal flock! They usually disperse out. So this is "first #1." "First #2" is really not a first. It's a "second." But it's very, very rare. Only once before have I ever seen a nest reused in another year. A very rare event! And the last time (in Arizona) it was also a young first-year pair and not the original owners of the nest. Interesting.
Last, but not least, I found RXRG (RexRug) with a flock very near his nest from last year. Also with him was NUNX (Nuns) who was banded as an adult visitor at RXRG's nest last year. This was all near the juncture of Bluff Trail and Springwater. I am certain RXRG (who has a very, very complex history which I will detail here soon) has a nest near here.
Stay tuned for more! I realize that, at this point, it all seems a bit confusing. But as the season progresses, you will get to know these birds and their nests and shenanigans and be as excited about what they do next as I am. I think :-)
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