Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher couple building a nest

What a gorgeous day today was. Sunshine and warmer temperatures were exactly what we needed! To celebrate, I picked up my mom (Joni) and Ena and headed over to the Little Miami Bike Trail for a bit of birding. The bike trail is a wonderful place to catch spring migrants. It follows the Little Miami River and is heavily wooded. It seems to be a magnet for the neotropical migrants, and you never know what might show up. 

Today we saw and heard numerous Northern Parulas, several Yellow-rumped Warblers, and tons of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Additionally we saw several Golden-crowned Kinglets, one Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Belted Kingfisher, plus all the usual suspects you would hope to find in a woodland, including Downy, Hairy, Red-Bellied, and Pileated Woodpeckers. As we were returning, I looked up and saw a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher with a small bit of something in his bill fly onto a branch and then walk up to a nest!! The nest was gorgeous. It reminded me of a hummingbird's nest because it was entirely encased in lichens. It was a perfect little cup on a horizontal branch, just like it's described in the literature. We stopped and watched, and soon the female joined him and the couple worked together to build the nest.

This sweet couple worked diligently bringing 

little bits to the nest. They both worked equally.

While the female is off getting a piece of seed down, lichen, 

spider silk, or some other small item, the male is on the nest, 

moving around and adjusting his contribution. You can tell 

he is the male because of the black "eye brow" over his eyes.

The male continues to work in the nest.

The female is surveying the progress. She 

decides the nest needs a little more of something....

...so she comes back with a teeny, tiny bit of lichen in her bill.

She then settles down in the nest and carefully 

tacks the lichen to the outside decorations.

Here the male also places a small bit of lichen on the nest. 

The male and female totally ignored us down below, however, 

this shot looks like he's giving me that crazy bird eye they are 

all so good at giving. With never ending trips back and 

forth carrying small bits of nesting material, they were 

like a nest-building tag team!