This weekend was too early to start planting most seeds in my garden. (The peas are in!) But there was plenty to do, starting with hanging the birdhouses that were stored in the garage all winter. I'd cleaned them out last fall to make them more attractive to new tenants this spring, which wasn't as easy as it sounds. Some have trap doors for easy emptying; some don't and I had the raw knuckles to prove it.
This is one bought at the Flower Show last year. It's made of cedar with a copper roof and launching pad and like the other birdhouses in the yard, was home to a nuclear bird family last spring. I think there were wrens in this one, and each time any human walked near it - no matter the benign purpose - you could hear the panicked chirping from quite a ways away. They say birds can be very territorial but for heaven's sake, what would you do if you looked out your front door and saw a giant?
Wrens are tiny birds and they like houses with similarly sized entrances and nesting space. You'd be amazed to know what's in there - tiny sticks arranged in orderly fashion interspersed with bits of paper, ribbon, shoelace, aluminum foil, even pieces of plastic from errant supermarket bags. A great lesson in recycling, if you're planning to build a nest anytime soon.
Wrens like to be about seven feet off the ground and you need to make sure the house won't go crashing down at the first stirring of strong winds. This snug little number is anchored to a magnolia branch with a stiff hanging attachment. It's near a birdbath, not too far from a seed feeder and one of those gizmos that you put an apple or orange on for birds to nibble on.
Best to vary the types of birdhouses you hang if you want to attract not just wrens but chickadees, bluebirds and nuthatches. At my house, at the moment, there are plenty of vacancies.
