In Africa’s Kalahari Desert, sparrow-sized birds called Sociable Weavers create enormous nesting structures that act like avian apartment complexes, housing weaver families by the hundreds. From the top, the nest appears to have a heavy blanket of straws with no holes for entrance. To our surprise, we found that t, Sociable Weaver’s Lifestyle, Conservation, and Survival in the Desert, Predators and Threats for Sociable Weaver Birds, Expedition to Antartica, Chile and Argentina in Pictures, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks, African Pygmy Falcon and Sociable Weaver nests project, Luxurious Casa Míla Barcelona, a Desirable Address by Gaudi, 25 Famous Monuments of Barcelona – Spain’s Top Architectural Gems, Yellowstone Lamar Valley Wildlife and Canyons Photo Gallery. The large nest’s structure is supported strong wooden beams, filled with smaller branches and twigs to keep the structure together. Here is a short video of a sociable weaver nest and the busy birds. And haystacks on the telephone and electric poles. With the fully covered top area, the large birds can’t get to the nests and the babies. Cobras can wipe out a whole nest filled with eggs in one big sweep. “They all thought we were nuts,” says Swen. Here in North America, the clearest examples are the woodpeckers that provide homes for all manner of bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, flying squirrels—but we should be on the lookout for others. We saw a large number of nests during our horseback safari in Victoria falls and on our drives in Namibia. The sociable weaver birds live together as a family unit of parents, older kids, and babies. Sociable weavers live for nearly 10 years in the extreme conditions of the wild! funded by donors like you. Most birds abandon their nest once the babies are grown up and start new nests every year. The nests themselves do an amazing job of staying cool in summer and warm in winter, which may be why a half-dozen other bird species vie for unoccupied nest chambers. Namibia’s unique desert ecosystem is home to many unusual species. So they forged on alone, gradually assembling a construction team and recruiting craftsmen and artisans. Thomson presented his research at the 27th International Ornithological Congress, August 2018, in Vancouver. They need very little food and they don’t start breeding until they are two years old. From the top, the nest appears to have a heavy blanket of straws with no holes for entrance. They can also attack predators in large numbers to protect their nest. Scientist Robert Thomson of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, says the weavers are also “ecosystem engineers” because their communal nest colonies support a range of other wildlife. Indeed, other studies of sociable weaver nest construction suggest that a minority of birds never invest in thatch construction . Some weavers, like the sociable weaver, however, form cooperative breeding groups, where numerous pairs build a huge communal nest together. Over the years, the birds’ droppings enrich the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, resulting in the tree growing more leaves (which giraffes eat) and providing more shade (which antelopes use in the heat of the summer) than trees without weaver nests. Sociable weaver birds build huge nests on trees and telephone poles. From the Spring 2019 issue of Living Bird magazine. Maybe on bushy trees but how do they get stuck on poles? An unusual structure in Canada – Wildlife crossings in Banff, Barcelona, Blog Post, Destinations, Europe, Gallery by Continent, Gallery Europe, Spain, Story, Barcelona, Blog Post, Destinations, Europe, Featured, Spain, Destinations, Gallery by Continent, Gallery North America, North America, United States, Wildlife, Wyoming, We got curious so we started asking around and investigating the structures. They all survive and thrive together in healthy nests and healthy communities. The gigantic nests built by sociable weaver birds in camelthorn trees ... he and his designer and artist friend Porky Hefer visited a spot nearby the site of The Nest, ... they’d have to go it alone. Also, thanks Robert for sharing the information that sociable weavers are restricted to the Kalahari and Namib desert. The sociable weaver birds are one of the rare birds that keep working on the nests all year long and over generations of birds. The family chamber is quite comfortable because it’s lined with twigs, cotton balls, and feathers. The close proximity generates warmth, so they need very little food in to survive the cold winter months. These little birds know how to conserve resources in the arid desert and maximize their lifespan. We first came across a haystack like structure on a tree in Kruger national park on Sunset Lake and did know what to make of it. So, the older kids are a crucial link in the long life of a sociable weaver nest. How could a haystack this large get stuck so high? The sociable weaver nest keeps the extended family cool on hot summer days and warm on cold winter nights. So they forged on, gradually assembling a construction team and recruiting craftsmen and artisans. As we researched more, it got more and more interesting. The sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) is a species of bird in the weaver family that is endemic to southern Africa. To our surprise, we found that these structures are built by little sparrow-like birds that live in the arid and semi-arid regions of Namibia and South Africa. Subscribe now. Read more highlights from the conference. P icture of a sociable weaver nest structure from underneath Sociable Weaver Nest’s Construction. The sociable weaver’s nests do a great job of protecting the bird colony from big birds and predators. Once sociable weavers start having babies, they have lots of them and that’s pretty much all they do. One of the most fascinating is the little sparrow-like birds that build enormous structures for their family for generations to come. The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation. The Eagles and big birds perched on the sociable weaver nest make noises with approaching predators and warn the sociable weaver birds inside the nest. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird. They are easy to spot because they look like a pile of hay stuck on otherwise empty trees or on utility poles. The interlopers include barbets, tits, lovebirds, finches, and the Pygmy Falcon, which sometimes eats skinks (which themselves are up to 3x more abundant on trees with weaver nests). But, sociable weaver nests have been found to be 100 years old and thriving. It was really odd. Each hole/opening is a passage into a chamber where multiple birds live together and eggs are incubated. Sociable weaver birds survive and thrive in the desert because of their lifestyle and ingenious. but their range is centered within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Notice the cacophony of noises they made when we moved under the nest. A subset of sociable weavers is not observed at the nest during the day [ 33 ], and therefore these individuals can not be chased, however we suspect that this group that returns to the nest in the evening to roost. However, large birds commonly rest on top of the huge sociable weaver nests. Some predators take over the sociable weaver nest and make it their own home. So, the sociable weaver birds like to build on telephone poles or trees with few branches. It was a mammoth task: it took a year alone to weld the rebar frame that forms the structure. The sociable weavers protect themselves by make deafening shill noises when danger approaches. A communal nest has several advantages over an individual nest. Sociable weaver birds build huge nests on trees and telephone poles.