Here in the backyard in Norwich village about 12:15 PM today (July  
17), a female American Goldfinch, seen through binoculars, collected,  
with repeated thrusts of her bill, a wad of webbing from a new fall  
webworm nest in a crab apple tree. The bird then flew off out of sight.

Presumably the webbing was used by the bird in nest building for  
binding plant materials together. In an extensive study which appeared  
60 years ago, Walter Nickell examined 264 goldfinch nests in Michigan  
and commented on the use of spider and caterpillar webbing in nests.

Although old nests of fall webworm were conspicuous here in the Upper  
Valley last fall and through the past winter, most webworm nests seen  
have not had any birds present. On numerous occasions when looking for  
birds in trees after leaf drop, I used binoculars to check out distant  
bird-like silhouettes which turned out to be remnants of fall webworm  
nests.

George Clark
Norwich, VT

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