nests...

As spring progresses more birds are laying and nesting. Here are some nests I have seen in the last few days. Most people think of nests as being fluffy and warm. Flamingos like them muddy and flat. Sparky led the team to help build up the muddy mesas like upside-down cupcakes for the Chilean flamingos.

Even the mate of cereopsis (Cape Barren goose) that bit me earlier in the week made a cozy nest decorated with down.

Below is an American black duck reluctantly showing Sparky her precious eggs.

This supreme nest is a swan's, of course. She built it on the bank of the canal that runs behind the Field fence; a nice quiet place to incubate her young. I see her in the distance every day when I wheel the feed cart through the gate into the Field. The other day I couldn't resist walking up quietly to take her portrait.