this bird was hard at it yesterday (very close to me), nest building, only problem as far as ultimate success goes, the Topeka Zoological Park only has one Hamerkop [I really like this new to me lens and my 16 - 85 mm lens as well]
[sorry about my TMI syndrome]
"The Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), is a remarkable wading bird who is so named as its head shape, curved bill and back crest resembles a hammer. ... a distinctive medium sized wading bird measuring 47 – 56 centimetres in length and weighing around 415 – 430 grams ... although they are only medium-sized birds, they have huge nests that can measure over 2 metres in depth and width and weigh up to 50 kilograms in weight. [!!!!!!] ... made from 1000’s of sticks, twigs. reeds. grasses and stems of aquatic vegetation held together by mud and are so strong that they could hold the weight of a man. They take around 3 – 6 weeks to complete having been worked on by both members of a pair.
Nest walls are built on a sturdy platform and topped with a domed roof. A mud-plastered entrance 13 to 18 centimetres wide in the bottom leads through a tunnel up to 60 centimetres long to a nesting chamber large enough for the parents and their young. The outside of the nests are decorated with bright objects that the birds collect.
Nests are often built in the fork of a tree, on a cliff ledge, a water bank, or dam and preferably over a water source. Hamerkops are obssessed with building nests and will construct 3 – 5 nests per year in their territory, whether they are for breeding purposes or not."
Hamerkop Bird - Facts, Information & Pictures 
Post #6960 by WPRESTO
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