Last week I wrote of the singing and preparations for nesting from several bird species in our area. When I watched a pair of mourning doves in my front yard taking action that would result in a mourning dove egg being laid later that day, I realized that there are some area birds already nesting.

I have found mourning dove nests every month of the year except December and January. Usually I locate them by seeing the adults carrying pine needles or long grasses into a thick evergreen tree or shrub. Their nests are so skimpy that it is a wonder the eggs do not fall through the bottom. Maybe so many eggs are lost that many attempted nestings are required to achieve success.

I have found American woodcock nests as early as the first week of February. If you happen to flush a woodcock in the woods right now, check the ground carefully. There is no nest, just a shallow depression in the leaves with up to four perfectly camouflaged eggs.

Great horned owls are the earliest nesters in our area. Some pairs may already have young in the nest, though, like woodcock, they do not construct a nest. They prefer to take over an old nest from some other large bird like an osprey, red-tailed hawk or even a great blue heron.

I have seen nesting owls in a very active great blue heron colony. If you know of osprey nests around the larger reservoirs, check them out to see whether something feathery is peering over the edge right now.

And what if there are no available large nests? No problem. Great horned owls will use a broken snag in a large tree, or any jumble of limbs that will support them and their chicks. No damaged trees? Still no problem. The birds have been known to nest right on the ground if they feel protected. Great horned owls are the fiercest and strongest bird in our area so they really just nest wherever they want. If you happen to know of an active great horned owl nest, I am interested to hear about it.