FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Nest Mystery Solved

["Barbara Farron" <bfarron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thank you to all who made suggestions as to the identity of the makers of the 
mystery nest (details repeated below).  Yesterday I spoke with a woman who had 
seen the residents --a pair of MALLARD DUCKS!  We noticed ducks waddling around 
the church parking lot late this winter; apparently they decided to stay and 
nest, even though the church property has no outdoor water feature and is some 
distance from any sizeable body of water.  Recently there were eggs in the 
nest, but there are now no eggs, shells, or sign of the ducks.  We hope they 
located more suitable accomodations to raise a family of water-loving young.
Barbara Farron
Springfield, VA
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Original Message:
5/1/04

>>Today I located a type of nest I've never seen before, which may or may not 
>>belong to a bird:  
    (1) It is on the ground, an oval shape perhaps 12 inches or so across the 
longest part.  
    (2) Hollow in the center, the top of the ridge/sides appears to be almost 
entirely of small down type feathers, some with brownish markings.  I'm not 
sure of the structure at the bottom as I didn't wan't to disturb it.  There was 
no sign of eggs or inhabitants during the middle of the afternoon.  
    (3) The nest is almost against the trunk, under low-hanging branches of a 
large evergreen tree (probably some sort of juniper), and the tree is in a 
partly shaded area of landscaping on suburban church property on a steep hill.  
    
    (4) I have been converting the area around the juniper into a native plant 
garden, and it is full of ferns, wildflowers, a few small blueberries and an 
azalea.  Next to the native garden is a thick planting of evergreen azaleas and 
dogwoods.
    (5) The only wildlife I've seen in the garden (other than insects) are 
toads and chipmunks.

Does anyone have an idea what this nest could be?

Barbara Farron
Springfield, VA
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