A few months ago I wrote some posts (here, here, and here) about the chickadees and woodpeckers that nested in our magnolia and silver maple trees, respectively. 

Just the mere act of writing about these birds (and videorecording them) has made me more aware of them than I ever had been before.  So, no surprise, when I was outside doing some last-minute winterizing over the weekend, I noticed both species entering their respective nests.  Perhaps they also sensed the shifting winds that sent my husband and me outside for those final, end-of-autumn chores. 

I always wondered whether these birds returned to the same nest year after year.  Now I know: they never actually leave. 

Like the rest of us, these non-migratory birds hunker down against the elements, as cozily as possible, tucked inside the nest cavities they’ve fashioned in the tree limbs they call home.