I’ll confess that I really love Blue Gray Gnatcatchers! They are these feisty little zippy birds who fly faster than my camera can follow– darting in and out of the live oaks catching small gnats and insects. They are well-named: mostly blue-gray with a long tail that can flare white on the edges. Breeding males have a strong black eyebrow that makes them look like the original angry bird.
Impossibly small, these little guys make nests that look almost like a hummingbird nest. They gather spiderwebs and some plant materials, and weave a cup shaped nest, cementing it together and to the tree with spider silk that they’ve gathered. Spider silk is apparently five times stronger than steel, so the nests should be able to withstand strong winds.
Nesting Zone moving northward
According to All About Birds, the nesting range of these small birds has shifted 200 miles northward in the last century. In addition,
- Occasionally, significant numbers of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers “overshoot” on their spring migrations and end up much further north than usual. They may be carried past their target by strong southwest winds in warm regions, and by strong northerly winds on the west side of high pressure systems. Most probably make their way back south before nesting.
Well camouflaged nests
The only way I ever find the nests is to watch them build them and then try to find them again. They are usually on top of a knot of branches, and covered with lichens which makes them blend in with the tree seamlessly. The blue-gray gnatcatchers themselves are easy to spot: they flit through the trees calling insistently. I love to watch them gathering spiderwebs and lichens.
I had a chance to watch this pair build a nest over a number of days.
They’re very industrious: building up to 7 nests each season. Even though they are called “gnatcatchers”, they eat a wide variety of insects and spiders, feeding their babies lots of caterpillars.
If you want to watch the nest-building unfold over a longer period of time, here’s a longer nature observation showing the nest over the course of two weeks.