Bird Nesting Season

Mid-May through June is a great time to observe nesting birds. Here is a photograph of a female Robin collecting mud in my garden to construct its nest. The weather had been dry, so the bird was "crazy" for mud. It flew within 3-5 feet of me, stayed for some time collecting mud, and returned repeatedly.

Here are two additional photographs of nests I observed recently outside of Newton, but in eastern Massachusetts. The first photograph is of an Eastern Towhee nest. This species nests directly on the ground.
The next photograph is of a Veery nest in a low shrub. The blue eggs belong to the Veery, while the speckled egg belongs to the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird. This species is a threat to many native neotropical migrants in our area. I don't know if either of these species currently nest in Newton. It would be great to do a breeding bird atlas for our City...