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applestar
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Nesting birds count so far...

So far, I have a Robin's nest in the honeysuckle arbor, House Sparrows in a birdhouse, and Carolina Wrens in a birdhouse. Another Robin was considering using an abandoned Cardinal nest in another honeysuckle arbor, but seems to have decided against it.

Still have 4 more vacant birdhouses. I didn't realize one had an OLD nest/material in it -- sometimes, I don't have to take them out, but this one was harboring some sowbugs (no idea HOW they got up there), so I cleaned it out. Another one, when inspected more closely, had a spider's nest near the ceiling. When I poked it out, a very scary looking black spider scuttled out, and yet another one, there was a half-expired carpenter bee buzzing around in it. I don't know if it was the spidersilk caught around it's feet (maybe a spider already bit it?) or the dusting of DE in the box. I knocked it out of the box, and later it was gone, so I guess it recovered and extricated itself.

The one the Carolina Wren is using now used to have a paper wasp nest in it earlier in spring that I knocked out with a yardstick. :roll:

More nests in neighbors trees and shrubs close to the property lines -- Robins in Eastern White Pine trees and Grackles in a Juniper.

No sign of House Wrens yet, though I'm starting to hear them occasionally.
Chickadees usually nest in one of the birdhouses. They, along with Titmice and Nuthatches visit the feeder all the time though. Cardinals, too, are nesting somewhere in the woods behind the house. I'm on the look-out for the Mourning doves that always make a nest on top of the weeping cherry as well.

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gixxerific
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All I have so far is a lonely Robin that made a nest in my willow that keeps eating my worms. That's okay there are plenty for us to share. No takers on my bird house not sure if it is in the right location though.

I still have another birdhouse I made and a gourd birdhouse I made as well to put up somewhere.

With the birds and the mantis you should be somewhat good this year. :D I need to find my ladybug friends. I have some aphids in my house on my eggplant starters. :x Oh and the fungus gnats are back in full force. :x :x

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applestar
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Oh! The Birdhouse gourd birdhouses! I forgot about them. So I have two of those hung up too, and another one waiting to go out (I have to put a finish on it). Once the House Wrens arrive, they'll stake claims to all of them, I'm sure, whether they ultimately move in or not. I think the Chickadees simply scold them out of one. They're kind of funny when they're bickering for territory since they both have very distinctive "scolding" voices.

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Kisal
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I saw a pair of house sparrows checking out my birdhouse last month, but they can't get in. The hole is purposely too small for them. I haven't noticed whether any other birds have visited it.

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applestar
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I still have to finish the 3rd birdhouse gourd, and I'd better hurry! A House Wren has started housekeeping in the Turkish Turban gourd house I hung right outside the Family Room window. At least one lady Wren has been enticed to take a look inside. :()

3 pairs of Goldfinches came to the finch feeder after I refilled it yesterday. HOW do they know? Between the finches, wrens (House and Carolina), cardinals, robins, and song sparrows, as well as a few others I didn't recognize, the outdoor serenade/concert was really jamming today. :D

Then, there's this other thing -- I just looked out the window and saw a brown bird with a bright red/orange rump in the birdfeeder, so I took a peek through the binoculars. Almost immediately, the bird turned around and looked this way (I.e. turned it's head so one side of it's head was turned directly towards me). HOW do they KNOW? (Oh. It was a House Finch, BTW.)

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gixxerific
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Animals just know.

Still just have my robin though now with mate. They are protecting their territory now, evacuating other birds that come in my yard. I just came down from watching miss robin doing her thing in my garden. She loves it, there are so many worms. I just hope she is getting some of the bad bugs as well.

Apple how do you have your birdhouse gourds fastened to whatever they are fastened to? I still have one to put up but wasn't sure if I hung it from a tree swinging if they would occupy it.

I am a little worried about putting another one in the back yard 'cause the robins are keeping other birds out of the yard as I said.

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applestar
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For the Turkish Turban, which is sturdier, I drilled holes on the top about 1/2~1" on either side of the stem and looped a metal clothes hanger through the holes. Twisted the hanger at the top to make a hanging loop.

The one birdhouse gourd that is out now, I used the water-soak method that I described last year. It turns out that rotting and scraping out the insides naturally results in a very thin-shelled container. It's lovely, like fine china, but I don't think I'll do it this way again when using them to make birdhouses. Anyway, I wrapped a thin gauge wire around the neck of the gourd, then hooked ends of a cut-off wire clothes hanger. I crimped the part normally used to hang the hanger into a hanging hook.

Turkish Turban is definitely occupied. I scared the wren when I opened the curtain. I don't think swinging bothers the wren. In nature, trees and shrubs sway. I know when s/he's inside BECAUSE the gourd is wobbling and swinging. For a while, there was a stick poking out of the bottom drain hole and it was hilarious to watch the stick being moved this way and that -- gotta get the interior decorating perfect for that lady bird! :lol:

A Mourning Dove has now claimed the top of the Weeping Cherry tree as expected. I don't know why a Robin doesn't take that spot -- maybe it's a tad too exposed since the Cherry isn't fully leafed out yet.

Speaking of Robins, I watched a Robin single-mindedly flying up at a neighbor's dark green sedan for about 15 minutes this morning. Always knocking against the side of the car with beak and scrabbling for purchase. Only managing to land on the window frame maybe 1 out of 6 or 7 times -- peering in the window, hopping down on the ground again, then back fluttering up and knocking at the side of the car again. Non-stop. I recorded 5 minutes of it on my camera-phone vid. I got tired of watching. Did it think it was a bush? What was it doing? :?: :?: :?:

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Kisal
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applestar wrote:Speaking of Robins, I watched a Robin single-mindedly flying up at a neighbor's dark green sedan for about 15 minutes this morning. Always knocking against the side of the car with beak and scrabbling for purchase. Only managing to land on the window frame maybe 1 out of 6 or 7 times -- peering in the window, hopping down on the ground again, then back fluttering up and knocking at the side of the car again. Non-stop. I recorded 5 minutes of it on my camera-phone vid. I got tired of watching. Did it think it was a bush? What was it doing? :?: :?: :?:
The resident robin saw its reflection, and thought it was an intruder. It was trying to chase the "other bird" away, so it wouldn't have competition for food supplies, nest sites, mates, etc.

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gixxerific
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Thanks Apple I have wire I could use to hang the gourd. I already have holes drilled in the top for venting and for hanging. I was just curious if they cared if it was swinging all over. Obviously they don't. It's always so windy here and they are so light any resident may be going for a ride. :lol:

I need to find a good location for it.

Windy: yeah it's always windy here that is until it gets up near 100 degrees with humidity to match than nothing. Still haven't quite figured that one out. :wink: :P

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applestar
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Here's the Turkish Turban wren house:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image6808.jpg[/img]

I think Carolina Wren has chicks. I hear faint peeping when an adult goes in. I just hope the Cowbird that had been hanging around that nest box earlier this spring wasn't successful in supplanting the wren's eggs. It's a bluebird house and has a flip open side panel, but I'm afraid to look. Besides, I was working on setting up a bean trellis nearby yesterday and I got SO scolded. :roll: :lol:

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gixxerific
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Don't mess with momma. Haven't you ever heard that before? Laughing

By the way that gourd is uhhhh uhhhh uhhhh interesting to say the least. Very Happy Love the stand.
Last edited by gixxerific on Wed May 05, 2010 12:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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applestar
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Huh? ... oh :oops:
:x :roll: :lol: Maybe I should've picked a different camera angle. :>

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gixxerific
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gixxerific wrote:Don't mess with momma. Haven't you ever heard that before? Laughing
I should learn from my own teachings. Laughing

Just out under the Willow tree looking to see what I should trim up when I turn around and there is one mad momma looking at me. Surprised "Sorry momma I will go" Razz

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gixxerific
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Well I thought I saw something the other day but today I am sure that we have some youngins kicking.

Went out and saw today. I believe I'm am out in the garden and around that nest so much that momma and me have trust in each other. I was standing there checking to the baby just 5 feet away and momma was cool with it.

[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj185/gixxerific/Gardening/DSC03588.jpg[/img]

By the way all that nesting she conveniently found from my garden and under the willow. Maybe she will come back next year.

I showed my wife the pic she had to take my daughter out there, she just told there are 3 babies in there. How cool is that. :flower: I feel like a proud poppa cigars for everyone. :lol:

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applestar
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Low pixel photo but here are the baby wrens! :D There is a third tiny beak that occasionally pokes out but I couldn't get a good shot:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7118.jpg[/img]

Did you know that almost every other time, after the Mama or Daddy wren brings a bug and feeds it to the young'uns, one of the babies turns around, presents its little tushie out of the hole and poops, which the parent grabs and flies off to drop as soon as s/he lands somewhere? :shock: 8) These babies are POTTY TRAINED! :lol:



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