July 26, 2016

Empty Nest #1
Bozeman, Montana
2016

This is the first of a series of still life images I’m working on featuring abandoned bird nests and other items from around our property.

I was going to call this series “Abandoned Homesteads” but decided on the less metaphorical “Empty Nests,” for now anyway. I realize this particular house wren nest is not empty in the strictest sense, but it is empty of avian life forms. With the abandoned, non-viable eggs, it could also be called “Failure to Thrive”.

According to federal law, it is illegal to collect abandoned migratory bird nests or even miscellaneous feathers found on the ground. You can remove them but they have to be destroyed. However, the law as written does not seem to prohibit (I hope) photographing the nests or feathers before they are destroyed.