Outdoors ESKIMO SKULL WITH LONGSPUR NEST Pins and pine needles found in nests A gentleman from Land’s End called about a strange nest that he had spotted in one of the fall trees in his backyard. It consisted of sticks, grass, wisps of bark and moss and was lined with feathers which could only be seen on examining the structure after the birds had reared their chicks. The location of the nest served as a positive clue as to its maker. The nest, located under a scale or tatter of bark clinging low on the bole of a dead fir tree, could belong only to a brown creeper for this species almost invariably chooses such a nesting site. While the literature is replete with instances of brown creepers utilizing the abandoned nests of woodpeckers and wrens, I have never found a pair that nested other than under a scale of sus- pended bark. The streaked brown creeper looks for all the world like nothing more than a fragment of loose bark hitching itself up the bole of a tree. As he climbs he is searching -- carefully for tiny bits of food half hidden in the crevices and cran- nies of bark, using his small, down-curved, pointed beak with great dexterity. In the search he might well encounter a rival, the red-breasted ‘A nest reporied by Harriet C. Battell was made up of 52 hairpins, 68 nails (large), 120 small nails, 4 tacks, 13 staples, 10 pins, 4 pieces of pencil lead, I! safety pins, 6 paper fasteners, 52 wires, I buckle, 2 hooks, 3 garter fasteners and 2 odds and ends’ nuthatch, who works upside down while foraging down the trunk, rather than up. The competition between the two may be more apparent than real since each is viewing the source of food from a different angle. Having searched for some dis- tance up the trunk, the brown creeper immediately flits to the bottom of an adjacent tree and starts another ascent, continuing thus throughout much of the day. Should the tree contain an aban- doned woodpecker hole, the creeper might well meet up with a house wren which has chosen it as a nesting site. Speaking of unexpected or Strange nesting sites, the bird world has many interesting exam- ples. Bonaparte’s gull (our little black-headed ’coho gull’), unlike the vast majority of its tribe, has taken to nesting in trees. Goldeneye, wood, bufflehead ducks and two of our mergansers nest in old woodpecker cavities, high above the ground. Ducks in trees? Solitary san- dpipers nest in trees, usually using the old nests of rusty blackbirds or cedar waxwings. On the prairies, almost every twine-box of binders accommodated a pair of mountain bluebirds in the spring. In the Arctic, we once found a Lapland longspur nesting in an Eskimo skull, the rightful owner deceased. But the gold medal winner of both eccentricity in choice of nest- ing site and nesting materials is incontestably our house wren. House wrens have been found nesting in cavities in trees, in bird houses, the old nests of many other birds, the discarded skulls of cat- tle, rusty garbage cans, teapots, bedpans, old boots, the pockets of old clothing, farm machinery, flowerpots, automobile engines, fish nets, unoccupied corsets, bras- sieres, hats and the nests of wasps. The nesting materials used by : fous? wrens are even more TheReview Wednesday, August 26,1992 — A22 > “The MEN’S Shop” | Just North of the Landmark Building on 2nd St. ; | 656-4443 * UPHOLSTERY * ANTIQUES KETC. | FOR PERSONALIZED | cpA 2K E! Fur 6655 TRUDEAU TERRACE BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C. (i > LEGENDARY COUNTRY DINING Luncheon Tues. - Fri. From 12 Noon Cy Hampson photo Seafood Club Smoked salmon salad, shrimp, fresh tomato, lettuce and red onion on toasted whole wheat $Q00 bread. Served with our marinated vegetable salad. 8 + tax remarkable. While nests are BD Ca @ 2328 Harbour Road usually constructed predominantly q ; » Sidney, B.C. of twigs, grasses and other bits of & © RESTAURANT © 656-6622 vegetation, fur, hair and : — feathers are nearly always ( - |) included. yew | LEGENDARY COUNTRY DINING However, A.C.Bent notes. that a nest reported by Harriet C. Battell Sunday Buffet Brunch was made up of 52 hairpins, 68 Suny trom EBOD aura, nails (large), 120 small nails, 4 Omlettes to Order, Salads, tacks, 13 staples, 10 pins, 4 pieces Seafood, Breakfast Meats, Eggs, 3] 3? of pencil lead, 11 safety pins, 6 Carved Roast, Dessert Table & more a paper fasteners, 52 wires, 1 buckle, : 2 hooks, 3 garter fasteners and 2 2328 Harbour Road 7 odds and ends! Sidney, B.C. ale And this, you may say, is an odd 656-6622 end to an outdoors column. S —Jf BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS: & NOTARIES NICHOLAS W. LOTT CHRISTOPHER S. LOTT R.G. WITT LAPPER D. MAYLAND McKIMM TIMOTHY F. LOTT G. LIANNE MACDONALD > GEORGE F. 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