Birds nests along my travel ways

Birds Nests and the spring season have two main things in common: 1. They happen at the same time, 2. They fill your heart with love and hopes of a new life. The difference is that a nest is just a glimpse into what spring is all about…

In Europe, it’s quite common to see birds and birds nests in urban areas at springtime, and I find this beautiful.

Portugal

One year, we happened to be in Faro, Portugal for the Easter time, where we’ve seen a lot of birds nests (mainly of storks) on buildings roofs. You really had to look overhead to see them. That was not an inconvenience, but actually, quite the opposite. Along with the storks we could also see some beautiful architectural details, which I always like to admire and photograph during our travels. This one is my favorite of the series. It’s a stork that built her nest on top of a church bell tower – I thought this scene was a powerful symbol for that time of the year and holiday.

Further on, while visiting Estoi in Portugal I noticed these storks fighting for the nest place on top of a 28 meters (92 feet) high crane. Wow!

Also in Alte, Portugal, this cute little swallow just landed in front of her nest. In fact, there were several swallow nests under that old weathered balcony, with rusted rails. Lucky them that the thick wiring lines underneath gave support to their construction. I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition and of course, I got the shot.

Germany

Another time, while in Germany by Lake Constance I photographed this male water bird carrying a big branch to his nest.

I know it was a male because the female was already in place keeping the eggs warm. (Sorry, but I don’t know the name of these birds). It is sad to see the conditions these birds are forced to live in. Actually, their whole story was tragic. The nest, was flooded by a wave produced by a speed boat and they lost everything 🙁

Oh, here is another mother bird forced to build her nest on a boat dock. It was on Lake Constance, Germany, as well. She’s a Coot, also a water bird – just look at her huge feet protecting the eggs 🙂
Here you can see how she tried to fight with a boater who had just landed on that dock 🙂 He was really puzzled and didn’t know what to do.

Canada

I can see the inconvenience of having the nest built on the ground level. I guess that birds nesting in trees face less dangerous situations. However, you never know who’s watching you…even if only with a camera 🙂 And there I was!

Yeah,… the dangerous situations are there but they differ .. This is a mother and her juvenile robin chicks who were just across from my balcony. (At that time we were living in a small town on Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada).

Look how hungry the little ones were:

I watched the mother robin hatching and feeding her youngsters, and the chicks taking their first flight 🙂

Life is beautiful!

• Most of these birds pictures are available as prints in various versions. Click on them for details.