They Tried Their “Nest”: 35+ Funny Feathers Who Built Their Homes In Odd Places

You know what they say; nature knows best. But it was hard for us to buy this after finding out where these birds had built their nests. From tires to car engines to traffic lights, these bird parents got extra creative when making their homes. If we could have a word with these parents, we would applaud them for their ingenuity but gently guide them to a safer spot.

Being do-gooders, some citizens have relocated bird nests someplace protected but near their original location. That gives the flock a fighting chance of surviving the nesting season to rear their children in time for winter. Even if it’s not in the birds’ “nest” interests, we loved seeing them build a home out of literally anything.

Friendly Arrival

This hummingbird sure knows how to make an entrance. When tired of singing, he flies to his nest that hangs from the backyard roof. You will hear the bells chime to announce his arrival. Not to worry, hummingbirds weigh less than a nickel, so that rope should be enough to carry him and his house as he rests.

Make no mistake. Just because this hummingbird has made a home out of this beautiful wind chime doesn’t mean that it will stay here all year long. Hummingbirds are migrating birds, so they will leave at some point. This wind chime will then be home to another bird species.

Nice Addition

To save up on costs, Mom often reuses decorative wreaths. In fact, she leaves them on the wall all year round. She doesn’t have to scrounge in the attic for a pile of decorations, unbox and then hang them up. A couple of critters add a touch of decor to make these wreaths appear brand new.

This year, these parents built a nest on the decorative wreath. Mum had noticed the unexpected addition a little too late. She threw her hands up and then huffed. Now, I gotta go buy bird feed from the store.” And now she has pets.

Lights Out

This mother bird had to leave just before the break of dawn. She tucked in a piece of straw under her child’s neck, spread her wings, and then flew off. If she was lucky, she could make it just before her children started crying out for her.

She could make out the faint cry of her children from far away. But she kept her pace. As she neared the nest, she flapped her wings slowly and then stretched both of her feet to grapple the sides of the nest. In no time, her children were gobbling up breakfast.

It’s A Go

We know how difficult it is to thrive in the city. Space is scarce, food is expensive and there’s so much noise all around. You make the most of what you have given your resources, at least until you are given your big break.

Below, cars were honking once the lights turned green. Before things returned to normal, this coop lived comfortably with little to less traffic in the city. Give or take a month, this mom and her chicks can move somewhere better suited for them.

Can We Get A Discount

These minis still fetch a whopping price despite having been off-season for some time now. So, what is it with Mini Coopers that appeal to the public? For one, these subcompact cars remind drivers of go-karts. Who doesn’t love ’em?

You could drive from 0 to 60mph in only a couple of seconds with a 2.0 liter four-cylinder. So, it hadn’t come as a surprise that this driver bought a Mini Cooper for his garage. In a week, however, he went back to ask for a refund.

A Promising Start

Don’t you just hate sad endings? Well for this family, this grim ending led to a promising start. They had to find a place far from the vicious bites of coyotes, and foxes. This momma bird took shelter in this odd-looking cage. Little did she know that it once housed a beating heart.

It seems like a bittersweet finale for this poor fellow, but nature has little regard for emotions. After all, this is just a cycle in the kingdom. One creature’s passing gives way to the survival of another. At least his remains were put to good use.

Outta My Way

She walks the whole length of the yard to find a place to nest on and finds one just on this porch. She stomps her webbed feet on this plant and then sits to lay her eggs. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Ducks often find nesting places in vegetation areas.

She may leave her eggs unattended to eat and then return to lay on them for nearly the whole length of the 28-day cycle. After the babies hatch, she will lead them to the nearest body of water. Not to worry, she isn’t the type to go for swimming pools.

Pretty Smart

Doves have served as messengers to royalty, military generals, and other notable people. Second, they can adapt to almost any niche. You can find them in deserts and even in the unforgiving Antarctic. Lastly, they are said to be pretty smart.

This mother dove has to take care of her young before teaching them how to build a home. Once these are able to take flight, they will travel over 10,000 kilometers to get home and travel over 80 miles per hour to get there.

Genuine Leather

This couple was surprised to find this coop nestled inside a shoe. Just how were they able to take it down, and how long have they been living in it? These are only a few of a handful of questions that have yet to be answered.

Just look at them, completely unaware that they are living inside a cow’s skin. Mom made it more homely by adding a couple of twigs and hay. Every now and then earthworms line the place. These chicks gobbled them up in a jiffy.

So Long As It Fits

You would be surprised with the number of ways you can reuse most of your garbage. This stranger had repurposed a worn-out shoe as a bird’s nest. All he had to do was to secure it against a tree, and nature did the rest. Within a week, these tenants moved in.

This mom and her mate gathered broken twigs, dried leaves, and a couple of clumps of mud to create this home. It kept them safe from snakes, coyotes, dogs, and deer. And Mom can forage for food knowing full well that her children will be unharmed.

Currently Occupied

Birds are finding it harder and harder to nest in trees. The more populated a city is, the lesser the chances of them finding a house to live on. That is probably why they have turned to use makeshift birdhouses, such as this, for brief points in time.

This homeowner put up a sign to keep people from absentmindedly placing their cigarette buts inside the birdhouse. He wouldn’t want anyone to evict this homely visitor. Occasionally he checked the contents of the bin, and poured some nuts in for his housemates.

Need A Little Mist

This homeowner lives in California, where it’s absolutely necessary to have a misting system in place. She has a wide lawn, home to several plants and insects. Lastly, the misting system plays an important part in keeping the patio cool during the summer.

She came across this strange bump on her water sprinkler. She nudged at it and realized that it was a nest. Fortunately, she hadn’t pushed the eggs out of the nook. But she had to make do without the cool mist this season to accommodate these guests.

What’s Brewing

How do you know you can repurpose an old item into a nest? For one, it must have a spacious interior. Second, it has to have a hole wide enough for a bird to enter and make a home out of. This woman refashioned a teapot and secured it by the side of her garden.

These birds didn’t have to worry about their nest getting wet during the rainy season. There was a roof. It was perfect! On a sunny day, light would shine just shy of the hole and bring this coop some warmth.

Where Are We Off To?

This car owner’s eyes felt heavy and he kept scratching at his nose. He would call in sick the next morning. He knew he had the flu. After a couple of days of rest, he went out, keys in hand, to drive to work and was met with this.

It seems like during his rest, this mama bird had made a home of his car. Although he was glad to be of service to someone, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for wanting to move it out of its place. It wouldn’t budge. So he hailed a cab.

Snuffed Out

We don’t know whether to stan this makeshift nest, or take it down. Someone thought it was a wise decision to reuse an old ashtray as a birds’ nest. They had placed several signs to keep people from placing cigarette butts inside it. And so far, these birds are loving the accommodations.

All this owner had to do was to place a couple of seeds inside. Soon he could hear the chirping of these fellows which had taken up separate rooms inside the nest. Isn’t that a great way to welcome the neighbors next door?

All Aboard

This veteran kept a vintage aircraft in his yard. It had been the same aircraft that led him safely home during the war. Although he hadn’t been able to fly it for a decade, he took comfort in seeing it housing this blue tit during the nesting season.

So many people have asked him to tell stories about his role as a pilot during the war. But none of those stories compare to the kindness he showed these birds. This act of generosity, allows these birds to rear their young.

Fresh Duck

This duck has found the oddest of places to nest in. Care to take a guess? We will give you a clue. This place is frequented by locals and foreigners alike for the scrumptious croissants. If you feel like it, you can order salad on the side.

This is the deck of a restaurant. One of the specialties includes duck and vermicelli soup. After hearing that, this site doesn’t sound like the best place to nest in, but how else would you ask this bird to waddle along without alarming them?

How Is That Possible?

Birds come in different sizes, but this is the smallest we have seen yet. Meet the bee hummingbird. These fellows weigh about two grams max and can grow roughly an inch long. But don’t mistake their minute size for weakness. They are strong fliers, and can best eagles in a match.

That is why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they had been able to lay a nest on a pendant. They only need a quarter-sized space to lay their eggs on. Before it hatched, this chickling grew inside an egg about the size of a coffee bean.

Madonna and Child

Many artists have tried to recreate their own vision of Madonna and child. Some have done so by painting, drawing, or sculpting. In some works of art, you can see the Virgin Mary shrouded with a veil, a sorrowful expression in her eyes, and in others, she is smiling.

Madonna seems content that her crown is a safe haven for this family of birds. “Use it as you wish, and for as long as you want.” She knows how difficult it can be to find a place fit to raise a child in.

A Fashionable Headpiece

We have all heard that a woman’s hair is her crowning glory. But it’s way better to adorn a thick mane of hair with jewelry, or a headpiece. So when this bird came across this libertine statute, it knew that she could benefit from a wreath of hay and pine needles.

Don’t you think that she looks better with this headpiece on? Whereas many once looked in awe of this statue, now they looked at it with delightful interest. This bird seemed to love the attention too! From time to time it flapped its wings when people coo at it.

Take it From Him

After going through this list, you might have thought of securing a birdhouse for your backyard. But how should you go about the process? It depends on the birds around you. Some birds like chickadees love a stand of shrubs and small trees, whereas bluebirds love birdhouses placed in open fields.

A birdhouse ought to be about ten inches tall, and five inches wide. That should house wrens and bluebirds. But if you’re hoping to tend for wood ducks, you will need thrice the size of that. Lastly, hang the birdhouse at the right height to protect them from predators.

Just by the Door

As we get older, it seems like we are running out of things to be grateful for. The house is always in disarray. There isn’t enough room in the house for anyone’s ego! But thanks to this uninvited guest, we had realized that there’s more than enough space if you look at things differently.

One way to work on your perspective is making a homey nest for birds. With winter rounding the corner, they need to build their strength so that they can fly with their mom. And we would be more than honored to help them on their journey.

Who Are You Kidding?

This farm owner had gotten tired of bird droppings decorating his barn. He had tried chasing away a couple of birds from housing there to no avail. So he decided to purchase this scare owl online. It had favorable reviews, but it seems like it didn’t hold true to its promise.

To spite this barn owner, the swallow nested atop the scare owl. It hadn’t even been a week since this scare owl took guard. This farm owner threw his hands up in despair and looked quizically at the birds looking down on him.

Nothing to See Here

It didn’t matter to this family that the street on which their house was built was noisy. You could hear the ground tremble as a car drove by, or the jackhammer beat against concrete. They were only going to be here for a couple of days.

Her children could barely make it out of the house they lived in. But that didn’t matter, so long as they heard their mother make her way down the cone, worm in mouth. On a good day, she would bring them about 3 earthworms.

The Regulars

You know you have been a hospitable host if you find the same guests frequenting your pad at the same time each year. For over two years, a woman housed families of robins. She was pretty sure that this was the same round that had visited her last year.

When she felt like it, she would leave a couple of seeds on the patio table for these birds. They are a pretty shy bunch, so she makes sure to give them some time to peck at the food. She has a dish of water by the side, just in case they need something to clear their throat with.

Out of Practice

Is it just us, or does it get harder to stay in shape the more you grow older? We had signed up for a couple of gym memberships but never go. Might it be the lack of motivation that keeps us from sweating in the gym?

This dad usually took the long walk through the golf course. But we are guessing he didn’t feel like golfing for the past month. He had lost his form while swinging, and something had laid eggs inside his golf shoe.

Round the Nieghborhood

How fast time flies. Whereas once, this woman’s daughter would spend the afternoons cycling the neighborhood, now her daughter would spend the days in the living room, with several zoom meetings to attend and deadlines to meet. The bicycle soon collected dust, and rust lined the length of its spikes.

Both were surprised to see that someone had made a home out of the bicycle’s basket. Finally, this bike could serve some use to someone in need of a home. This dove kept to herself most of the time, even if this woman and her daughter attended to its needs.

Flocking Together

When this bird saw this goose out in the distance, she called out to it. It didn’t crane its neck or squawk at her. She crept nearer to it and tried to make small talk. So far, this goose had been the nicest one she had met yet, and before long, she had made good friends with it.

This figurine had been this bird’s home for over a couple of weeks. Whenever it rained, this bird would seek the shelter of trees. But on sunny days, it would canoe down the river on this figurine’s back, comfortably seated on hay, leaves, and dry leaves.

Quite the Risk- taker

It may not look like it, but blue tit birds are risk-takers. Just before the breeding season, this couple tried to look for a territory to occupy. The nearby trees and walls had been occupied by other mates. And they have had their fair share of occupancy in letterboxes.

Unfortunately, they chose this exhaust pipe to live in. We can imagine the number of ways catastrophe could strike. But it seems like this family was able to live through a month in this pipe unscathed. They all lived to see another migration.

Machine Power

We had always thought that tractors ran on gasoline and kerosene. After all, we could take a whiff of it from afar. Our grandparents would use these for plowing, planting, and harvesting crops on the farm. But as it turns out, these tractors ran on a different energy source – feathers.

Fortunately, this bird and her eggs rested safely in its interior. After seeing this, the owner made a mental note of storing this tractor in the barn to keep other similar critters from housing in them. Apart from that, he would have to check every other engine’s interior before firing them up.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

This homeowner is unhospitable towards guests. After all, having someone over can be utterly exhausting. A host would have to attend to their guests’ needs. That is why it is better to shut the world out, cancel invitations to keep people from coming over.

But that didn’t keep this bird from inviting himself into this homeowner’s pad. It figured he wouldn’t be able to keep him out if he stayed out of sight. So he flew in the dead of the night, leaves in mouth, and placed them atop this surveillance camera which would be far from this homeowner’s reach.

Found a Blue Tit!

If you are a foreigner to Europe, then it’s highly likely that this is the first time you have met this rare bird – the Blue Tit. They roam during the winter but they only do so for a couple of miles. They live until about two to five years of age but one fellow lived over two decades.

It is one of the most recognizable garden visitors, with its yellow, blue, and green colored feathers. You should be able to see them all year round in the UK and some Scottish islands. They are the type to frequent hedgerows, woodlands, and your neighbors’ gardens.

Butter or Margarine?

So we were absolutely salivating for a rack of ribs and whole chicken. So Dad immediately headed for the kitchen, and thaws a whole chicken. He look out a number of seasonings, unsalted butter, cognac, and some chicken stock.

After prepping his glaze, he went outside. He was shocked to see this nest built underneath. That bunch of hay would make for a great firestarter but at the expense of a nest of birds. He scooped up the nest and placed it on the backyard table.

Short Stay

If you are a gardener, you will encounter this troubling dilemma at least once in your life – whether to welcome birds who can help in the pollination process or to keep them off your plants. Fortunately, this homeowner was kind enough to let this pigeon crash a pot on his porch.

The plant was dying anyway. He could always plant a new one, but having a pigeon come over to visit is a pretty rare opportunity. Owing to their nature, pigeons are very protective of their young. So as much as this homeowner loved to ogle at the two, he kept a safe distance from them.

Nothing to See Here

You can tell that the neighborhood handyman had made excellent repairs to the house. It had been some time and Dad still hadn’t carried this ladder into the house. In all that time, this bird had been able to build a nest on the topmost rung.

The oldest son found it. His eyes opened wide at the chicks that sleep innocently inside it. He showed his brother who begged for a peek. The elder told him to keep quiet to keep those chicks from waking up.

Sunny Side Up or Scrambled?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You wouldn’t want to turn up at the office pale and sweating with your stomach grumbling for some peanut butter and jam. But if you’re the type to forget meals, it’s best that you eat high-fat and high-protein foods when you can.

This mom was kind enough to offer you her only egg. It seems like she also tried to fancy up the plate, as she had put twigs by the side. That was more than enough to draw our attention to the egg on the pan. So how about it?

What’s Baking?

Despite their lithe bodies, birds can survive the harshest conditions. Take the South American Ovenbird. They often build their nests in leafy woods and thickets, but there have been instances of them building their little homes on an available windowsill.

They use clay, fiber and straw to create the walls and wait for the sun’s warmth to concretize the structure. It isn’t enough that this home is spacious, they use grass and feathers to create chambers inside the house. Talk about interior designing!

Another Goodie

After reading about South American ovenbirds, the internet couldn’t get enough of baking. Here is another family with a knack for cakes and temperature control. How about tuning in to see how this mama bakes one for her kids?

How did this cake pan serve as this bird’s nest? We aren’t too sure either. The windowsill isn’t the place where we would store our baking pans. But if we were to guess, this homeowner might have seen this bird and believed she was looking for a place to stay.

That Was Quick

This man was going through a rough patch. He needed to get his mind off his breakup and decided to crash at his friend’s house. He drove there, bag in hand, and then slept on the couch. The days passed by. But it was only later that he knew he had overstayed when he found this on his car.

It had only been six days since he had left his car in a parking lot. Apparently, that was long enough for mum to build a nest. He couldn’t just leave the car with the nest in tow, so he decided to relocate this mum and her eggs some place safe.

It’s A No-Go

As you might have guessed, birds aren’t always the best at picking the location for nests. Some of them have chosen backyard grills, car engines and in this case, truck tires to lay their young in. Who wouldn’t be afraid for these little critters?

So if you want to relocate a bird’s nest, choose a safe location nearby. Some nests are better left alone, especially if they’re too high up the ground, or relocating them would be risky to you or the fledglings.

Like them Charred?

Who doesn’t love barbecues? Lately, this family hadn’t been able to round the gang because Uncle Joe and Auntie Sally were out of state. But now that the two are back in town, it’s time to dust off the seats, prop up the tents, and scour those grills.

When he found these birds, this homeowner knew he preferred marinated pork. For one, these were too young to be cooked. Second, he can’t think of anyone in the family who would think this was palatable. And third, he doesn’t like hay for an appetizer.

Keeping Guard

This homeowner found an inexpensive fixture to adorn the house. The only catch was that it will stay until after winter. It suited him fine. After all, who doesn’t want to see a bunch of doves resting by the side of your patio door?

He was more than egg-static to have them over. He would have let them stay all year round. But he knew that these fledglings must fly against the wind to gain strength. Until then, they had each other for company. He exerted his best efforts to make them comfortable during their stay.

Season’s Greetings

If there is anything this woman dislikes, it is having to put up decorations for the Yuletide season. She would have to make her way up the attic, carry a bunch of boxes down, and endure a billow of dust as she unpacks items to be strewn around the house.

Who would have thought that this wreath could look any better? Most of this woman’s guests thought it was interesting that she had added a figurine until they had realized that this dove was alive. They stood a safe distance away, to keep from scaring this dove away.

Guess the Bird

While we are at it, we can play a little game. Try to guess the type of bird that lay in your home from the fragments of eggshells you find. Blue or greenish eggs are often laid by dunnocks and blackbirds. Those eggs might have spots on them. Cream-colored eggs are borne by blue tits.

Bullfinches lay their eggs within the same time as well. But their eggs are colored light green-blue with a dash of purple on them. Chaffinches are an odd bunch. They lay white eggs with brown-red splotches. You might think that there’s something terribly wrong with those eggs, and you won’t steal them.