We had winter wrens nesting in one corner of the porch and phoebes in the other. We disturbed them every time we left or entered the house, but both wrens and phoebes successfully raised hatches.
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Robbins dominate our property. We also regularly get Great Horned Owls. I also hear the crows and various other birds. I think thereâs some kind of warbler we hear regularly that Iâm trying to figure out.
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Best part of these nest boxes: no house sparrows! The slot is 3/4" tall by 1 1/2 or 1 3/4" wide. Built 'em three years ago, so would have to locate notes or look up examples in the internet again to be sure. Sparrows are too deeply built to get in the slot, but violet-green & tree swallows can squeeze in.
Maybe next year.
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A couple of robins made a nest on my mulberry tree. They donât seem to eat my mulberries so I will let them have home there.
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A sad update on the kestrels⌠The Audubon guy came by to band the chicks today. The chicks were all dead. His thought was that something happened to one of the parents.
Itâs all part of nature, even when we really donât like it.
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This is a sad news
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One of my honeyberry bushes with a 4â chicken wire cage around it was making strange sounds at me as I picked last week. Finally I discovered a nest with three baby birds in it, and eventually a parent brown thrasher hopping around in the bottom of the bush near the ground. Not sure if they have fledged yet.
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One time I saw a baby bird covered with ants. I brought it in and tried to gently remove the ants with water, but couldnât save it. It was one of the most horrifying and sad times in the garden. Since then I wasnât excited to see any bird nest. I can stop the ants going into the house, but not the garden and the hillside.
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Three years a pair of Coopers hawks have nested here. They didnt have eggs or the eggs where destroyed this year. They have abandoned the nest and left the area.
This year there are a large number of gray catbirds. They have eaten all the honeyberries and cherries.
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Blackberries and plums are great for bird nesting and habitat.
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By popular demand (actually, I finally got around to bringing the iPhone up to the orchard again), here is the nest today (July 30). I hate to disturb the nest, but it is on the tree closest to the orchard gate, and when we walk by or near, a parent flies away.
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I normally donât disturb a nest unless it is before they lay their eggs. Then only if they are in direct conflict with ripening fruit. Yours will fly away in about two weeks or less.
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Well, I never heard any peeping and thought they had abandoned the nest. I emptied it out today and found one tiny egg that had two small holes in it. Too small of holes for anything to have hatched out. I wonder if this is the work of a wren again. Last year this nest box was filled with sticks and this year it looks like the eggs were sabotaged. I had read wrens are territorial but wow. I suppose it could have been accidental too.
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