City folks pay big bucks for "Bluebird Houses." Apparently these houses are constructed with just the right size and shape holes to entice this finicky bird to make it's nest inside. They also have to be a certain distance from the ground--about 4', I'm told.
This is our third Spring to live in our country estate--aka "farm house." And for the third year in a row, a pair of bluebirds have taken up residence in the pipe that sits outside our kitchen window, beside the cellar door. I don't have a clue what the purpose or function of this pipe is, but it meets all the criteria for a perfect bluebird house. Four feet off the ground, with a regulation sized and shaped hole conveniently rusted out of its side.
Last year George and Gracie were in the yard and they tormented these poor creatures relentlessly. The hole wasn't quite big enough for their noses, but plenty big enough to echo their howls across the countryside.
But that didn't stop the birds from coming back to their favorite nesting site this Spring.
Welcome home, little bluebirds.
1 comment:
I bought a birdhouse "for decorative reasons only" a couple of years ago. I made sure the little post for them to stand on to hop into the hole was too far down to be practical. I put in right outside my bedroom window. Immediately, a pair of sparrows moved in and soon I had a chirping sparrow family OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM WINDOW all spring. I was afraid to move it, didn't want to confuse the parents. It was amazing to watch the birds fly at full speed and go right into the hole without stopping on any ledge or landing post. Needless to say, when the season was over I moved it out farther into my garden.
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