Birds nest identification turns out to be tricky. This nest was about 10 or 12 feet up in a Quaking Aspen sapling.
As you can see it was beautifully crafted by what we came to conclude where Goldfinches, out of strips of bark and thistle or milkweed down (both where abundant). It was in a managed successional field with nearby wetland and forest, prime habitat for Goldfinches. The other possibility we considered was Yellow Warbler but it seemed to far from the water.
We took this nest down to get a better look. The tree we cut the branches from was doomed to the brush cutter as the area is kept clear to create a specific habitat. Collecting birds nests is illegal without a permit.
