Funky nests

You can find them in hanging flower baskets, an old boot, a garage shelf, or under a bridge -- birds build nests in the strangest places, note the folks at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As part of their Celebrate Urban Birds project, the Lab is sponsoring “Funky Nests in Funky Places!” competition.

Celebrate Urban Birds is a free, year-round citizen-science project, focused on birds in neighborhood settings. While we are much more “suburban” than “urban,” Cornell points out, “We will gladly accept data from all locations, including suburbs, small towns, small cities, as well as large cities. It is exciting for us to receive data from a large variety of ‘Green Spaces.’”

For the Funky Nests in Funky Places challenge, the lab wants you to take photos, do a painting, write a story, or shoot a video showing a bird’s nest built in some out-of-the-way or out-of-this-world place. “When observing nests please be sure to avoid touching them or disturbing the birds,” Cornell adds.

There are prizes for the best shots, including a Leica C-Lux 3 compact camera, bird feeders, shrubs for planting, and more.

To enter, email your entry to urbanbirds@cornell.edu. Links are acceptable for videos. Write “Funky Nests” in the subject line. Include your name and mailing address. Explain why you submitted your entry -- what's the story behind it?

Deadline for entries is July 31.

Visit the Celebrate Urban Birds website, birds.cornell.edu/celebration/ for more information.