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Mitchell
Funky Nests in Funky Places 2019 is underway!
What prompts birds to build nests where they do? Some of their real estate choices are real head-scratchers. That’s where the Funky Nests in Funky Places challenge comes in. If you find a nest built in a quirky, even downright crazy spot, please tell us about it! The contest is hosted by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Entries can be photos, poems, stories, or artwork. Past participants have found nests strategically placed on statues, in barbecue grills, traffic lights, wind chimes, golf shoes, and pretty much anywhere.
You can upload your entries here: https://celebrateurbanbirds.org/community/challenges/funky-nests-2019/
The entry deadline is June 30.
We have a few categories in which our team judges the entries. We look for the funkiest, the cutest, the funniest, and the most inconvenient nests. Kind-hearted people have given up golfing, riding a bike, or driving a tractor for a while as they wait for baby birds to fledge from an ‘inconvenient’ nest!
Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts. All ages are welcome to participate as individuals or with a class, community center, or after school program. We are accepting entries from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to be a participant in the citizen-science project either–just sign in as a guest.
One grand prize winner will receive a pair of Celestron binoculars.
Other prizes in each category include window view bird feeders, folding pocket bird guides, Bird Academy online courses, Cornell Lab of Ornithology stickers, Project FeederWatch posters, and much more.
Attention: Before going out to locate nests, please take a few minutes to learn more about how to observe nests without disturbing or harming the birds at www.funkynests.org. In Spanish: www.nidoschiflados.org.