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March is a great time to try and identify some birds' nests before leaves have formed on the trees.

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Carrion crow

Crow's nest

Solitary cup-shaped nest normally high up in a tree

Sometimes nest low in scrub areas with no trees

Carrion crows also nest on cliff ledges

Rook

Rookery

These communal birds nest in rookeries

The cup-shaped nests are built close together in the tops of trees

In England and Wales a rookery contains an average of 20-25 nests. In Scotland, rookeries are much larger and often contain hundreds of nests

Magpie

Magpie building its nest

Large, dome-shaped solitary nests found low down in scrub trees such as hawthorn

The nest is unique in having two sections. The first is the normal cup-shaped nest, the second is a roof, making the whole nest appear dome-shaped

Magpies are notorious for stealing shiny items to decorate their nests