It’s springtime and our garden is bursting with new life. Butterflies laying eggs, plants and flowers blooming, and today’s most exciting: a towhee mama bird sitting on her eggs in a nest! But wait, you have to hear the whole story. George was gardening when the bird flew out of a small fir tree that we have by the pond – we keep it in a pot and use it as our Christmas tree. He kiddingly said to her, “What, you have a nest in there?” After peeking in he saw that indeed she did! She’s so well hidden, this is what you see at a glance:
Mother towhee hidden in fir tree
I didn’t want to disturb her, so I used a long lens to get a photo of her on the nest. She blends in so well with the tree, but the eye she’s keeping on me sparkles.
Towhee mama bird on nest
Her nest is made of loosely woven pine needles. I waited until she flew off for a moment, took a quick photo of her four beautiful blue speckled eggs, then backed off so she wouldn’t be upset.
Towhee eggs in nest
Oh, it’s a great time for a quick reminder. Please don’t prune your trees and shrubs during nesting season, which is all spring and summer. George’s rule of thumb in the Bay Area: don’t prune from President’s Day to Labor Day. Since nests are so well hidden (exhibit A being the photo above), don’t rely on being able to spot the nests before pruning. Also, George points out that hummingbirds build nests all year round here, so please be very careful even during the fall and winter.
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