In a previous column, I detailed a few local bird nests. Today I'll highlight a few that range from small to large, and unique.

The ruby-throated hummingbird breeds in our area, and try as I might each summer; I have been unable to locate one. The adults and young utilize my feeders, gladioluses, and canna. However, even though I attempt to follow them back to a nest, they quickly "buzz" away and disappear as fast as they arrived to feed moments earlier. The hummingbird nest, not surprisingly, is very small. I used a U.S. quarter to allow you to accurately judge how small it really is and why they would be so difficult to locate.The female carries bits of plant down, lichens, bits of plants, and holds this all together using spider webs.The nest will hold two pea-sized eggs. After hatching and growing, the young need to sit facing opposite each other so they can fit in the tiny nest. Even more miraculous is the fact that this frail nest holds up to the brooding by the female and then the young squeezed into it for about 30 days. This particular nest was given to me after I made a presentation at a flower club meeting about 35 years ago.At the other end of nest spectrum is the huge nest built by the bald eagle. This nest is located about a mile from Beltzville dam. This was the second year it was used. Yes indeed, the eagles normally pair for life and reuse the nest year after year. Sticks and limbs of 4 to 6 feet are added yearly, and with accumulations, a nest can soon weigh well over a thousand pounds. One problem eagles encounter with this huge nest is the supporting tree can sometimes topple in strong winds or storms.Nest building begins in the late fall after the pair chooses a huge (often a white pine) tree generally near a large body of water. This nest is close to Beltzville, the Pohopoco Creek, Parryville Dam, and the Lehigh River. The pair raised three young (an unusually high number) but having three large active chicks tests the nest's integrity. I'm sure late this year the pair will be busy reinforcing the nest for next spring's egg laying.In a previous column I described how a cliff swallow carried mud to build its nest. (Thousands of trips.) In contrast to that, a common bird, the mourning dove, is a "lazy" nest builder. The dove's nest is often thrown together with about 100 sticks or bits of straw.They generally lay only two eggs but they may nest three or more times a season. I have found a number of dove eggs on the ground after a storm, so I guess they need to nest numerous times because of nest failures.Cavity nesting birds add little nesting materials in the nest hole. In fact, the woodpeckers that normally excavate the cavity lay their eggs in the wood chips that remain. I have only touched the "tip of the iceberg" with bird nesting and will in future columns discuss more nest specialists and oddities. Most nesting is finished for 2017 but you may wish to scan your trees this fall after leaf drop to find nests exposed in the bare trees. Keep those nature eyes open because there is always something to see and learn.Test your Knowledge. The Pennsylvania black bear's diet is _____ percent plants. A. 10 B. 50 C. 90Answer to last week's trivia: The opossum, a marsupial, gives birth to many tiny young after a 12-day gestation period. They must crawl to the opossum's pouch and begin to nurse. Many don't make it. Once in the pouch they remain there for over 70 days until weaned.Contact Barry Reed at

breed71@gmail.com.