Few doubt the brilliance of bird nest design, but it seems our feathered friends are just as ingenious when it comes to picking locations for their future homes. They need to be, when you consider the rate at which we’re gobbling up space on our planet. Yet looking at some of the bizarre spots birds mark out as prime real estate, anyone would think this business tells you something about each bird’s taste and character.
This collared dove isn’t going to be getting any peace and quiet nested in amongst the nuts and bolts fixings of some traffic lights at a very busy junction.Bright lights big city
This thrush and its young family have gone a step further by nesting inside the traffic light itself in Leeds city centre, seemingly oblivious to the constant traffic.Light and airy
How a bird’s nest complete with chirping chicks came to be in a kitchen lamp inside a house is anyone’s guess. The human residents must have been away on vacation for quite a long time.Just hanging out
The RSPB has warned people to be aware of the more unusual places in their homes that birds might use for nesting and rearing their young. Hanging baskets are a particular favourite of wrens.Handyman about the house
Other garden birds opt for even more obscure nooks and crannies – like this robin, found nesting in a tool tidy. Perhaps it fancies itself as a bit of a DIY expert.Check out my wheels
These nesting blackbirds were found in the wheel arch of a 4×4 police patrol car. In accordance with conservation laws, the young birds had to be left alone until they had flown the coup.That’s just grate
Blackbirds have also been found nesting in other unusual garden locations like the mouths of wall-mounted lions’ heads. This one has plumped for an elevated grate.Sculptural style
It’s actually not uncommon for storks to construct their stick nests close to human habitation and on man-made objects, and because they are seen as birds of good luck, they tend not to be persecuted.Easy to contact
Weaver birds create the most elaborately woven nests of any birds, and when trees are scarce as they are in desert regions, telephone poles make equally good alternatives.Morbid fascination
