Location Choices May Be Creative, But ...

If you have ever left your garage door open for a few hours in the spring or summer, you have probably encountered the Carolina Wren.  It is incredible how fast they can build a nest!!

I made the mistake of not using my BBQ grill for a few days during nesting season.  When I opened the grill cover, I found the two-story Wren Mansion pictured here.  I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to find no eggs in the nest.  Sorry Mr. Wren -- I win this territory dispute -- move on!

When I said "Move on!", I did not mean for you to move into this bamboo box I used for concealing minor electrical connections by the hot tub!  Really, Mr. Wren?!  

I was too late this time -- the nest was full of eggs.  Unfortunately, the box sat on a 24" high table -- an easy target for snakes.  Out came an assortment of construction material.  The box ended up on a pole protected with a snake baffle -- just a couple feet from its original location.  It took momma Wren an hour or so, but soon she was tending to her nestlings.  They fledged successfully -- launching from the cut-out handle of the bamboo box they called home.

Lesson Learned:  Never turn your back on a Wren during nesting season!

 

And, now, I will tell you the story of the Bluebirds who discovered the "barn birdhouse" -- the house I didn't think would ever be used for nesting.  Silly me!

One afternoon, I saw the Bluebird pair coming in/out of this decorative house.  I checked it out and, sure enough, they had an active nest.  The issue was:  With the house sitting directly on a deck floor, it was an easy target for snakes and other predators.  I had just been through a rough summer of nest predation and was not about to lose another nest to predators -- snake or flying squirrel!!

 

So ... like the wrens in a box ... the "barn birdhouse" got mounted on a pole protected by a snake baffle.  I struggled with how I could protect the house from flying squirrels.  I came up with a design for a hinged, mesh door to cover the THREE holes in the barn house.  I'm sure I should not admit this -- but every night at dusk (after the parent Bluebirds left the nestlings for the night), I would go close AND LOCK the door.  I set an alarm and, every morning at dawn, I opened the door.  (I won't mention the fan I hauled out to blow cool air into the house during the brutal July/August temps.)

 

Crazy or not, these Bluebird nestlings (count them 1-2-3) became fledglings.