Newswise — Ithaca, N.Y.–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. Anyone who finds a bird nest in a creative, quirky location can participate. Entries can be photos, poems, stories, or artwork. Past participants have found nests built on statues, barbecue grills, traffic lights, wind chimes, golf shoes, and–pretty much anywhere. The contest is run by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The entry deadline is June 30. Submit entries at funkynests.org.
Entries are judged in several categories, including nests that are the funkiest, the cutest, the funniest, and the most inconvenient. Kind-hearted people have given up a favorite or necessary activity while they wait for chicks to fledge from a nest nestled in a pair of golf shoes, a motorcycle helmet, or on a tractor tire!
Participants don’t have to be bird or photography experts. We’re just looking for interesting stories. All ages are welcome to participate as individuals or with a class, community center, or afterschool program. Entries are being accepted from anywhere in the world.
Prizes include Celestron binoculars, window feeders, pocket bird guides, online courses about birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology stickers, posters, and more.
Find more information about how to locate nests, approach them without disturbing the birds, and enter the contest at funkynests.org. In Spanish: nidoschiflados.org.
Editors: Download high-resolution images.
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