Send in your funny, funky nests for quirky contest

Ithaca, N.Y.–What prompts birds to build nests where they do? Some of their real estate choices are real head-scratchers. That’s where the Funky Nests in Funky Places contest comes in. If you find a nest built in a quirky, even downright crazy spot, please share! The contest is hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Entries can be photos, poems, stories, or artwork. Past participants have found nests strategically placed on statues (as in the image above), in barbecue grills, traffic lights, wind chimes, golf shoes, and–pretty much anywhere.

The entry deadline is June 30.

 

The owner of this bike won’t get it in gear until these American Robin chicks fledge. Photo by Carolyn Sibner. Download larger image.

“We have a few categories in which we judge the entries,” explains project leader Karen Purcell. “We look for the funkiest, the cutest, the funniest, and the most inconvenient. Kind-hearted people have given up golfing, riding a bike, or driving a tractor for a while as they wait for baby birds to fledge from an ‘inconvenient’ nest!”

Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts. All ages are welcome to participate as individuals or with a class, community center, or afterschool program. Entries are being accepted from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to be a participant in the citizen-science project either–just sign in as a guest.

Top winners in each category will receive Celestron binoculars. Other prizes are available for honorable mentions.

Find more information about how to locate nests, approach them without disturbing the birds, and enter the contest at www.funkynests.org. In Spanish: www.nidoschiflados.org.