The most sure way to find them is to watch the Females, I've found dozens of Hummer nests over the past few years, and every time it has been the female that led me there,I have never found one in my yard,and am very wary of whom I tell,so that she is left alone as much as possible.

Of course, checking nests shows predators the nest location-so many predators who are watching your every move; squirrels, Blue Jays, Grackles, crows, etc. Mammals can follow your scent.

If you tell someone about a nest, even if you warn the person not to go near it, the person is liable to tell someone who will, and the nest could be doomed. Best to say nothing.

If you find yourself near a nest, best pretend you don't see it.

Your Chickadees and Titmice would be in a cavity, the cowbird would be found in all the other brids nests not one of their own, Cardinals prefer pines as do Robins around here. I have tons of Gold Finches but in 5 years I have yet to find a nest.

Doves, Carolina wrens and robins tend to nest in inappropriate places, shelves in the garage, hanging baskets, porch lights. I'm happy when I get to "welcome" the fledglings.

It really helps if you put a zone in your address, so we can tell if you live in a temperate climate, where the trees shed in winter. If they do where you are, THEN go out and start exploring for nests. You'll find them in the bare trees. I always discover an oriole pouch every year and it's always in a different tree. Once you see where they are, you'll get an idea of why they aren't so visible in summer.

In breeding season, I watch for adult birds with insects in their beaks. When they travel with food, then they are taking it somewhere. I listen! You can hear babies when the parents approach. I watch for adult birds defending territory. When you get fussy wrens or catbirds, or swooping jays, they're protecting a nest.

I look for haunts where I know they would likely build nests. My hawthorn trees or any tree with thorns are favs of mockingbirds.

Study up on which birds use what kind of nest when you read about them or look them up. You need to know what birds are cavity dwellers, and what birds use mud to cement nests and what birds use unlikely places, like wrens (clothespin bags, boots, hanging baskets).

We once uncovered and exposed a song sparrow's nest in the heart of a clump of fountain grass one foot off the ground. Keep in mind that most birds seek secretive places to sit their eggs for a reason. Their babies are exposed to predators and they are at risk, especially when the parents are off foraging.

Thank you for the great advice, especially about looking for nests in the fall.

Here just north of Boston they call us zone 6, but I consider us zone 5, we get very tough winters and low temps. I already have a large roost box and heated birdbath ready for the coming months, because when winter arrives here it often does so quickly and in a big way.

So...We definitely DO shed our leaves here! And when those trees have lost their leaves, I will be ready to get out and search for nests. And thanks to all who wrote I will know what kinds to look for and where, and to be careful about it.

Thanks all!

Well, by fall and winter, you won't be seeing any nesting activity or babies, but if you do this just one winter then it should give you an idea of where to look next spring and what to look for. I know in early spring, soon after the migrations, you need to be looking for birds with strange material in their beaks. Feathers, straw and grasses, moss and lichens, old pieces of rags and animal hair. This is all nest building material and if you can watch where those birds take off to, you'll know there is a nest in progress.

Another good sign is if they are tearing your clothesline apart and carrying off the pieces.

{{!gwi}}

Bob that is a cute picture! Every Spring I put out some cat hair from my sisters' long-haired cats in a suet cage, and the birds and a red squirrel love to take clumps of it for their nests.

I am sure there are lots of birds nesting in my yard (1.25 acres) or nearby, and have seen many different fledglings. But I am pretty oblivious to where the nests are located and have never really looked.

I do notice the obvious nests though. There were Chipping Sparrows nesting in the shrub right outside the kitchen window by the sink, Bluebirds who nested in the dead Pine snags, and there were Goldfinches who nested about 30 feet up in a large White Pine by the driveway (the nestlings were very noisy!).

Having Bluebirds nesting in the back yard was the most exciting thing this summer. Here's the Mom Bluebird feeding the nestlings in a dead Red Pine. I purposely left this dead tree standing right in the middle of the back yard -

{{!gwi}}

Thanks Terrene. I don't look for the nests either. I would love to have a tree like that in my back yard for the birds. I also put out nesting material but it's fun watching the birds balancing on the clothesline. This Bushtit didn't bother trying to balance.

{{!gwi}}

Bob, I love that dead tree. It's like a wooden sculpture in the middle of my back gardens. Birds love to perch on it. It was leftover after a tree service removed 3 large Norway maples from the back yard. It had a woodpecker hole that the Bluebirds used for broods 2 & 3.

Here's some critters collecting cat hair. Next year I'll try to watch where these guys take the hair and figure out where they nest. :)

{{gwi:314214}}

What a cute idea! I see Baltimore Orioles taking horse hair off the pasture fence on early spring mornings