http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyFw1NGr5_4
Willy Wagtail nest made on the coil of the electrical cord for my garage door opener. 2 years in a row now they have had success here with 3 babies each time. The opening of the garage door freaks them out a bit because the nest shakes. Next time I'll try and zoom in when I record it.
Nice one, amazing how they come into our world, didn't seem too scared of you. How do they get in and out when the door is closed?
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
The side and back is open, I can drive through to the backyard. A lot of times I drive through and she wont budge from the nest. Usually she's out of the nest in a flash when she see's a crow or a cat and goes on the attack.Only bad thing about this set up is when the babies are almost ready to leave the nest and get spooked and fly off a few days or so too early. When they do leave the nest, I can still keep an eye on them coz they hang out in the grevilleas at the back learning the ropes from their parents.
Hi hipsterdoufu. I think nesting birds tend to learn to discriminate between threats & non-threats. Willie Wagtails raised 3 broods of 3 birds each on top of a pergola post at our place. So, in spite of constant human traffic to & from the clothes line about 1 metre from the nest the birds obviously thought the post was a safe place to breed. I've even wondered if some bird species like Willie Wagtails come to see humans as keeping other threats such as cats & ravens at bay & therefore nest near human activity.
you could be right Woko.
here's a couple closes ups of the nest