Galleries > Planet Earth, Department Store of Dreams

The nest is what inspired me - I marveled at its size - might be as tall as I am - and its complexity. There are several of these nests around Austin, always on utility poles or some similar utilitarian structure, NOT in trees, generally. And they are huge nests, like condo complexes, for these birds - monk parakeets. Not native to Austin. This nest that I’ve watched for years is on my regular bike ride on the trail around Lady Bird Lake, near where Waller creek empties into the lake. There is a ridiculous amount of construction happening all around it now but the birds seem fine, nest intact, able to survey Austin being Austin from their well built perch.