Episode Details

It's nesting season in the Carolinas, and this week on The Backyard Naturalists, Debbie Foster and Laurie Horne take a fun, award-show-style look at the many ways birds build — or sometimes barely build — their nests. From the lightning-fast Carolina wren to the ground-nesting killdeer, the late-arriving American goldfinch, and the nest-hijacking brown-headed cowbird, this episode celebrates the clever, quirky, and sometimes downright surprising nesting strategies happening in our own backyards.

Along the way, Debbie, Laurie, and Chris share backyard observations of downy woodpeckers, cardinals, nuthatches, robins, wrens, owls, starlings, and even a few off-topic but very naturalist-worthy sightings of deer, fox kits, and coyotes. Listeners will learn why some birds use mud like cement, why goldfinches wait until summer to nest, how killdeer protect their eggs with a broken-wing act, and why leaving seedheads on native plants like echinacea and black-eyed Susans can help support nesting birds.

Have you found an unusual bird nest in your yard, on your porch, in a flowerpot, or somewhere completely unexpected? The Backyard Naturalists would love to hear about it — especially with photos. Share your nesting-season stories on our Facebook page and join the conversation.