It's that time of year again when birds are courting , mating, nesting, and raising their young. There is so much excitement and drama anywhere there are birds that it is hard to get any yard work done for all the distraction this causes me. This bird house is home to a pair of chickadees. Their young have not hatched out yet but soon, very soon. Last year this location was used by chickadees and juncos , they seemed to take turns raising their families in it but I think the juncos moved on to ...
... this bird house nearby, above my sheep shelter .
Yes, it is now home to a pair of Oregon Juncos. If you look very closely at the bottom left of this elaborate house you will see the pair of juncos chose to build a nest on the porch ! I think they prefer open air housing. Mama Junco's head can barely be seen over the horizontal branch, but she is there faithfully sitting on her eggs.
This is one of 4 robin's nests in our trailer shed . We have another in our hay shed. I am glad the robins are able to safely raise their young here now. For years we watched the robins lose their eggs and young to crows but when we built this shed to protect our travel trailer we discovered the robins also found it to be a safe haven.
This bird house is actually 3 houses in one structure and sits in front of our porch .This is part of my view when I sip my coffee in the morning while I watch the birds .There is a family of chickadees living in it , not the bird you see in the picture . Maybe this bird is considering living in the triplex , wouldn't that be interesting porch entertainment ? It could provide a lot of bird drama .
These are but a few of the many places I have observed birds nesting here at Cedar Pond . What is most fascinating is watching the bird drama as each tiny area around our home seems to have its' own bird community , its' own birdy squabbles, its' own bird beauty. Oh , I almost forgot, its' own bird comedy . The show begins before sunrise and ends after sunset , but not really. If you sit on the porch in the evening you can hear the owls in the woods and if the moon is bright enough you can see the bats silently flying about snatching mosquitos from over the wet grasses and the pond. Bird drama , better than anything on T.V. !
Birds tried to move into this bird house, but the wasps chased them away and set up housekeeping. We chased the wasps away and now this little home is vacant.
A pair of chickadees and a pair of swallows raised a family in this humble bird house. This home is now vacant.
Another pair of chickadees raised a family here this spring, bumblebees have taken up residence and now are buzzing busily in and out.
A small greenish-yellow pair of birds lived in this birdhouse overlooking the sheep pen. They flew away leaving a spider to help keep the pesky fly & mosquito population in check.
This bird apartment saw families of chickadees and sparrows come & go. It awaits new residents next spring.
An old birdhouse built by our son many years ago lost it's roof. I planted sedums in it. A chickadee checked it out many times this past spring but the lack of a roof must have been too much of a problem to actually move in, however a frog has taken up residence.
See? So where are the birds?
Here, inside our chimney! Since early spring right on into the summer there has been a continuous chirping and swooshing of wings in and out, in and out, all day, every day. We fall asleep to bird sounds magnified into our bedroom, and wake up to them. These swallows never seem to quit raising babies.
Sometimes we even have a fledgling fluttering around in the bedroom fireplace and we have to rescue it. The cat loves to sleep on our bed facing the fireplace.Since there is a glass screen in front of it, she can only dream her kitty dreams of catching the birds she hears .
Nope, no birds here either... "The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young." Psalm 84:3
