Tempe Willie-Wagtail

The nest from the beginning to completion

A friend of mine who lives in Tempe sent me this photo of a little Willie-Wagtail who has just completed building its nest on the pergola beam outside the backdoor of her house.  The nest is built mostly with dog hair & looks like an upside-down felt cap.  They are going to be very snug & comfy baby birds when they hatch.

Maybe the baby birds will ride on the back of her dog as they grew up with his smell & will see him as a friend. Too cute for words.

I went to the Birds in Backyards website & found the following  (bold is my emphasis) –

The Willie Wagtail’s nest is a neatly woven cup of grasses, covered with spider’s web on the outside & lined internally with soft grasses, hair or fur. The soft lining of the nest, if not readily available, is often taken directly from an animal. The nest of the Willie Wagtail may be re-used in successive years, or an old nest is often destroyed & the materials used in the construction of a new nest. Nests are normally placed on a horizontal branch of a tree, or other similar structure. Although it is active in defending its territory, the Willie Wagtail is very tolerant & tame around humans, often feeding & nesting in close proximity of houses & human activity.

Well, this pair is acting true to form using dog hair & building their nest at the backdoor.  They also chase after sheep & ride on their backs so watch out doggie.

You can read about the Willie-Wagtail & listen to its song here – http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Rhipidura-leucophrys The website Birds in Backyards is a fabulous website providing information & a sound-bite of 40 common Australian birds.

How often do you see this? The body of the Willie-Wagtail seals the nest from drafts keeping those eggs (probably 3) warm as toast