Ann and Steve Toon were visiting the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Northern Cape, South Africa when they came across something that blew their minds. While going through the park and taking in the scenery they looked up at a telephone pole and found something strange. There are very few trees in the park so this “high” structure is hard to miss.
Built on the telephone pole is one of the largest bird nests that can be found in the world. The nest was for the tiny weaver bird that averages five and a half inches in length but the nests can reach up to 13 feet. So why does such a tiny bird need such a large home?
The weaver bird may be small in size but they have big aspirations when it comes to their living quarters. Their homes are not designed for one bird or even one bird family. They build homes to live in large communities. The bird homes can weigh up to one ton and accommodate up to 500 birds. In these nests there tends to be multiple rooms for different functions. One room will be for feeding while the next room will be for roosting or sleeping. They are even insulated, protecting the birds from the high temperatures South Africa tends to reach.
The male weaver birds will build the nests in hopes to attract a female weaver bird as a mate.
Usually these bird nests tend to be on the ground, however, when possible they build them up high. Sense there are few if any trees in the park the Toons were visiting the birds decided to make their home on the high telephone poles. These nests were made up of little twigs, grass, and whatever else the birds could find that was plentiful all around. The structure of the nest is so well done that they look similar to that of a thatched roof built by humans. The images were very impressive to show the amazing abilities of these tiny little birds.
The Toons had a simple reaction: “Fascinated and awestruck.” The pictures the two took were posted online which garnered widespread reaction, especially from avid bird watchers. Some people wondered about the noise that the birds would create in such tight congregations. “Talk about living close to your neighbors! I’m also imagining how much noise they produce during daylight hours.
Nothing I’d want to live near, but very impressive building skills.” The birds have become very adaptive to their environment even with humans encroaching on their habitat. They simply took what humans gave them and took their nests from the ground to the top of a telephone pole. They are so adaptive that they even build them on road signs and any other place they can manage to get to. Despite being very small in size the birds leave a very large impression on everyone around them.
