April Nature Hunt Children’s Quiz

At its most basic, it’s a place to keep eggs or young safe. British birds create an astonishing variety of nests, from the untidy pile of sticks precariously balanced among the branches that wood pigeon rely on, to the intricately woven domed nest of long-tailed tits deep in a holly hedge, or the floating waterweed platforms assembled by mute swans.

Not all birds build nests, but those that do use a huge variety of materials, depending on the nesting time, the species and surrounding habitat. They can contain tightly woven twigs, grass or woody stems. Other species use existing nooks and crevices in trees, natural structures or buildings. Nests can be lined with softer or warmer materials such as animal fur, moss, mud or feathers. These materials are usually held together by spider webs, twine-like vegetation or even horsehair.

Nests can be a variety of sizes, depending on the size of the bird, the need to remain hidden and the structural limitations.

The nests can be built by either the male or female, or they can work together. They can take from a few days to a few weeks to build, depending on the size and complexity. Some bird species build a new nest every breeding season but others, such as the rook will use the same nest for many years.

Outside the breeding season some birds may make use of holes and crevices in trees, or our bird boxes, to shelter from extreme winter weather. The smallest of our birds adopt this approach often huddling together in surprisingly large numbers to keep warm overnight. As many as 60 wren have been spotted in a nest box – imagine the squash, especially if you were the first bird in with all the other piling in on top!

We had a display of bird nests and pictures of nest boxes at the event – here they are now with the answers.

Other nests you may come across

Grey squirrel

A grey squirrel's drey is a made of up a round plait of twigs, often with conifer needles, cones or dead leaves attached. It usually measures 30cm in diameter, but up to 50cm, close to tree trunks or forks in branches. In parts of Histon & Impington we have black squirrels - these are actually grey squirrels, ie the same species.

Hedgehog

Hedgehogs spend the day in cosy nests tucked into the bottom of a hedgerow or among dense undergrowth. They like to curl up in a substantial bed of dry leaves, moss and grass. Our gardens are an increasingly important habitat, and here they will move into custom-made ‘hedgehog houses’, though they are equally happy living under a shed or decking. Hedgehogs hibernate in their nests from November or December to about March.

Mason bee

If you have ever noticed bees buzzing about in front of brick walls, they were likely red mason bees. These bees get their name from their habit of nesting in cavities between brickwork, although they also use wood, hollow stems and provided ‘bee hotels’.

It is a solitary bee so, after mating, each female builds her own nest; she lines each 'cell' with mud and pollen and lays a single egg in each until the cavity is full. The larvae hatch and develop, pupating in autumn and hibernating over winter. The red mason bee is on the wing from late March until June, and feeds solely on pollen and nectar.

Common wasp

This social insect is a valuable pest controller in gardens and fields. It lives in colonies ruled by a queen. The queen wasp starts work in April or May, cutting slivers of wood with her scissor-like mandibles and turning them to papier-mâché, later helped by her army of female workers. Their nest is full of perfectly arranged hexagonal paper cells in which the grubs are raised; by midsummer, up to 10,000 wasps may call this home. Nests are empty by autumn and not reused; next spring, a new generation of queen wasps starts afresh. You may have seen an abandoned wasp nest in the roof of a garden shed or loft.