Last summer, I moved outside a small birdhouse that Susan made (and that’s decoratively lived inside since she built it long before I came along). I attached it to a decorative post that wasn’t doing very well holding a birdbath and for a little extra height I mounted the post to a small end table that wasn’t doing much other than falling apart. Then I stood the thing up in the garden on the north side of the house under the giant birds of paradise.
Et Voila (click it for the bigger picture):
In the initial weeks I kept an eye on it hoping for some avian activity or interest, but as it was late in the nesting season I figured maybe it would find some feathered tenants next year. And in fact, in the five months since, not once — not a single solitary time — did I ever see a bird go anywhere near it.
Shows you how attentive I am because this morning, when I saw that the 8.5″ of rain fallen from the previous six days of storms had left the stand sunk awkwardly into the soggy soil and the birdhouse sitting at a slant, I stepped in to straighten it up. In doing so peered in the portal rather nonchalantly, not expecting to see the full-fledged nest that occupied the floor:
Et Voila (click it for the bigger picture):
Judging by the level of spiderwebbing occupying the interior, the nest was oh so awesomely and stealthily built some time ago and then abandoned, perhaps never used. Perhaps next spring that’ll change.
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