Shortly after I bought this house, I arranged to have it painted.  I couldn’t believe the transformation.  Everything looked so fresh, and new, and stunning!  Soon thereafter, I opened the front door to find mud splattered EVERYWHERE.

“Where did this mess come from?!” I remarked out loud.

A friend who happened to be with me responded:  “Probably a Phoebe.”

“What’s a Phoebe?!” I asked.

A simple head-turn unveiled the answer.

I’ve gotten over the mud splatters now.  The Eastern Phoebe is a frequent-nester on this house (literally) and a delight to watch.  I do what I can to encourage nest-building someplace other than over the front door (mainly by providing platforms to facilitate easier nest construction) but, like all the other creatures around here, the Phoebe’s final decisions outweigh my preferences.

In coming posts I will share with you a time-lapse video of an Eastern Phoebe nest being built, pictures of the mouth-gaping nestlings, and at least one video of the fledged-youngsters being fed by a bewildered dad.