One thing that has cheered me up over the past week has been watching birds buzzing around with nesting materials in their beaks. The nesting habits of corvids, in particular, fascinate me.
Last year I felt privileged to be able to see a carrion crow’s nest from the window of my office. I wasn’t able to get any images, as there were too many branches obscuring the view, but I could see the bird on the nest every morning when I got into the office. It was a sight I genuinely looked forward to. I never saw the young fledge, which I have put down to me being on leave on the crucial days rather than it being an unsuccessful nest. I live in hope.
This image is of a different corvid nest. I spotted this pair of rooks on a trip to Alloa Tower at the beginning of April in 2018. After having a look at the 18th-century interiors we decided to climb to the top of the tower and go out and look at the view. I was delighted to see these birds and even happier that I had my camera with me! It was fantastic to have such an intimate view of this pair and their nest due to being in an elevated position above the tops of the trees. The pair also knew that we weren’t a threat and remained completely relaxed. Although rooks usually nest in colonies, which is where we get the term ‘rookery’, I couldn’t see other nests in the trees next to the Tower.