had been nesting

• past perfect progressive

  past perfect progressive

  Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.

  of nest.
  nest

  noun

  a pocketlike, usually more or less circular structure of twigs, grass, mud, etc., formed by a bird, often high in a tree, as a place in which to lay and incubate its eggs and rear its young; any protected place used by a bird for these purposes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

had been nesting

After a number of attempts with the assistance of crew members, Mr. Zambrano nabbed the owl from a 10th-floor balcony facing the ship’s Central Park open-air area, where the bird had been nesting.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

The Illiger’s macaws that had been nesting here were gone.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 8, 2022

Grinnell and Annie had been nesting atop the university’s 307-foot-tall Campanile since late 2016 and produced 13 chicks.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2022

The pair had been nesting there again this year.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 26, 2017

In fact some mice had been nesting in the plane and had fallen onto Zhenya’s head while she was flying.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• burrow
• den
• refuge