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Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Cool Discovery While Working in the Vineyard

My husband and I were working on either side of a row of Chenin Blanc vines. I was a little ahead of him and noticed this leaf covered with poop. I did stop for a moment and thought about why just one leaf would have so much poop. It did flash through my mind that it was bird poop, but I continued working.
My husband came along and said, "Did you see this?"
I answered, "What?"
He said "This leaf with all this bird poop."
I said,"Yes, I did."
He said "I wonder why this leaf is covered with poop."
He looked up and there he saw it, a little nest. In my defense, he is a little taller than I am so he was able to see it. But if I am being really honest, he is just more curious than I am and he went looking for the causitive agent. The nest was empty so clearly, whatever made it, had their young and left. We took some pictures and then he said, "I see some goldfinches flying nearby, it might be a goldfinch nest."
So, when we went home, I looked it up on the Internet, and there it was, a nest that looked just like the photo and indeed it was a goldfinch nest. In the past, we have seen bluebird nests but this was the first time seeing a goldfinch nest.
At the Madison Audubon Site this is what was written about the goldfinch nest:
They like to nest in a variety of habitats from rural to urban areas, especially where there are low shrubs to place their nest. According to researchers the nest is an open cup of rootlets and plant fibers lined with plant down, often woven so tightly that it can hold water. The female lashes the foundation to supporting branches using spider silk, and makes a downy lining often using the fluffy “pappus” material taken from the same types of seed heads that goldfinches so commonly feed on. It takes the female about 6 days to build the nest. The female usually has a clutch of 2-7 eggs, an incubation period of 14 days, and 17 days to fledging.
Here is a closeup of the inside of the nest:
I think our mommy goldfinch found the perfect place with the Chenin Blanc shoots and trellis wire for support!

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