The birds have spring fever. Their chorus begins before the sun comes up. Their foraging lasts until twilight begins. The males’ colors are brightening, and too, their dances and preening and battling for territory is heating up. Our airborne recyclers are collecting trash, pet hair, twigs, leaves, mud, and all sorts of other debris to create cozy little homes for their soon-to-hatch flocks.
A robin nesting in a Viburnum
In my day-t0-day working in multiple gardens, I hear tales of bird craziness. Yesterday, a client told me she had a “crazy bird” that kept trying to get through her windows to nest in a fake ficus tree in her living room. The bird would fly at the window and fail. Then, it would pop along the deck looking for entry at other window points. Despite the fantastic forest backdrop view we see from these windows, this bird was determined to live indoors. Sadly, the same client mentioned she had stopped decorating with seasonal hanging pots because one year a bird had built a nest in one of the pots. She hadn’t known about it and had managed to drown the babies when watering the plant. So goes survival of the fittest.
Wren Nest in Bike Helmet
In my own garden, I have at least one pair of house wrens nesting smartly in a woven basket style birdhouse I hung on a climbing hydrangea. The nest is somewhat hidden and high off the ground in a spot that would be difficult for a cat to access. Too, the branches aren’t quite strong enough to support a hungry larger bird. In my neighbor’s Doublefile Viburnum, a robin is nesting. She’s well hidden, but I can spy her out my office window. So can Twinky the cat, but he never goes outdoors, so he’s no threat to her. Here’s an update with sitings of her eggs!
My favorite bird brained nesting story came this morning from my sister in Virginia. Her daughter’s bike helmet had been hanging outdoors, cup side up long enough for a house wren to make her nest and lay eggs in it. I guess my niece will be getting a new helmet for spring because they’re all very excited to see the eggs hatch. Hopefully, she’ll send more photos as the baby birds emerge. I know I’ll be watching!
Have your own crazy spring bird stories? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!
