I own two birdhouses, which I built quite a few years ago.
One I had to rebuild and it is quite new, but the other one, well—the other one
has been neglected. Surprisingly, sparrows still build their nests in it and
use it. I guess, they don’t care about its appearance.
I looked at that one today and made the decision to build a
new one this winter. We don’t actually see it, because the tree in front of it
has grown over the years and blocks it from view. Perhaps that is the reason I
neglected it.
There is a lot of activity going on in the other one, the
luxury apartments. I think one of the pair nesting in it had their third brood.
I saw quite a few smaller sparrows coming to the feeders yesterday, still a bit
wobbly in the air, learning to fly.
That birdhouse was supposed to be a Martens house, but the
Martens come in the Spring, fly around the house, even check it out, but they
don’t stay. I don’t know why, perhaps because of the sparrows. The house is in
the open with lots of space around it, but the Martens are fussy. That’s okay.
I’m quite happy with the sparrows. They are loyal and stay around all winter.
They don’t leave us because of the little bit of cold and bad weather. (It only goes down to minus 40 C). We feed
them all year round and enjoy them. It is amazing how many different kinds of
sparrows there are.
The juncos come only in the Spring for a couple of weeks and
then again in the Fall. We get a large crowd then. They love to pick on the
flower seeds. Juncos feed mostly on the ground.
We also have 6 Bluejays coming to the feeders every day, a
few Chickadees, and North American Finches. The Robins come to take a bath in
the bird baths and it is fun to see them splash in the water. And, of course, a
couple of Hummingbirds come to their feeder. Once in a while some other birds
make an appearance. Waxwings, Black birds, even the odd Oriole. I put out
shelled peanuts every day for the Bluejays. They love them and make quite a
spectacle if they don’t find anything.
We also have crows, but they just make a lot of noise. The
hawk that flies by unexpectedly, is a majestic bird but not quite welcome. A
few years ago one hawk caught one of the two morning doves that came to the
feeder and ate it on the birdhouse. Not a pretty sight, and it was sad to see the lonely dove coming
after that.
We even had a few grouse one year for Christmas staying for
an afternoon. It is fun to watch the birds and we enjoy them. That’s why we
feed them and that’s why I have two birdhouses.
The visitors that eat the spilled sunflower seeds on the
ground are not of the kind with wings. Rabbits, squirrels, and other not always
wanted critters.
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| Not so luxurious apartment house |
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