IT’S a miracle that this nest still exists. Maybe divine intervention even.

A pair of dunnocks set up home in Dúlra’s garden this summer, raising a brood of four chicks. We rarely notice these wee shy garden birds that hop around in the undergrowth. And as for their nest, well... you may as well forget about ever locating it.

They hide it in the thickest thicket and are never seen entering or leaving it. They’ll make their way on foot to it, creeping through the branches to ensure they don’t give it away. But there’s a reason why we’re top of the food chain, and this year Dúlra used old-fashioned reasoning to uncover their biggest secret.

The garden hedges are a mixture of laurel, cropped fir trees and privet, except for one corner. Here, a few yards of hawthorn remain which – along with the thick brambles that grow through them – make a formidable border,  and even more importantly, a native Irish one. There are so many thorns you’d need a hazmat suit to go near it.

And so Dúlra kept a particular eye on this spiky corner and, sure enough, he finally spotted the wee cup of straw signalling the dunnock’s nest. It contained a brood of five chicks, their tiny heads reaching skywards to the slight sound when Dúlra moved a leaf to peer in.

As spring turned to summer, the chicks emerged and left. Dúlra watched for the parents to return for a second clutch of eggs, but the nest seemed to be abandoned. The parents were still hanging around that corner of the garden, so Dúlra rolled down his sleeves and once more braved the thorny thicket. And that’s where he found the second nest this week containing the four beautiful blue eggs pictured. Whoever said that a bird’s egg is the definition of perfection was totally correct. 

For whatever reason, the dunnocks had decided to build a whole new home for their second brood. And if they can fit in another brood before summer ends, they'll build a third nest. It's like they prefer a whole new home rather than a worn-out one.
The new nest was only a couple of yards from their old one, but closer to the top of the bush, which almost led to tragedy. Dúlra returned home this week to find that the neighbour had trimmed the top of the hedge. Dúlra ran down to check the nest – and it had only just survived. The mother was still incubating the eggs, although the thick cover was all but gone. The nest was now just a couple of inches from the top of the hedge. The electric cutter must have been terrifying for the birds but the maternal call was so great she couldn’t abandon her eggs.

And so the garden dunnocks – donnóg in Irish – look set to bring up a second family in the garden. And although they are shy and unobtrusive birds, it’s been recently discovered that they are the most busy of them all when it comes to reproducing.

There’s a lot of sex in that shrubbery as they do the business up to 100 times a day – and with various partners! It happens because the males and females both keep separate territories, which is very unusual in the bird world, where normally birds form pairs and live together. Separate territories means the dunnocks meet new mates all the time – both enjoying the single life. The dunnock is an example of why you can't judge a book by its cover – it's plain look and shy behaviour hides a life that is anything but boring!
 
• If you’ve seen or photographed anything interesting, or have any nature questions, you can text Dúlra on 07801 414804.