There are so many bird nests around here but there are two that must have been sent here to torture me. Every day, I come up with a different scenario as to the purpose of these two birds being here and I come up with a different plan as to how I can wring their little necks! I will not harm the birds or their nests but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.
I can see these two birds as bloggers and each day they are writing their little blog about scaring the wits out of the old granny. I hope they aren’t documenting the words they hear from the old granny! Some days I giggle thinking . . what if birds had cell phones and they were calling their friends saying “We got her again!”
Back Porch Bird
As I walk out my back door a hundred times a day, I say to myself . . that bird is not going to scare me but she scares me every time! She has her nest built right above where we walk out on the back porch. She . . or one just like her, does this every year. The minute I turn the door knob, she flies which means just as I’m opening the door, she zips right past my head. At night, she just sits there and stares at us . . like maybe she thinks we can’t see her since it’s dark or maybe she doesn’t fly in the dark. I don’t like to drive in the dark so I can understand her apprehension about the dark.
We’ve been working with a wildlife biologist and he speculated that it’s a chimney sweep, though he’s only been here during the day and she flies off the nest during the day when we’re around, so I don’t think he’s actually seen her.
Second Bird Nest
The second bird that makes me jump has built a nest in this bag of potting soil and I have to walk right past it to get to the shop — to see Boots, to the chicken feed, to the baby chicks! From the time I walk past the first bird nest, til I get over to the shop, I’m saying to myself “She is not going to scare me!” and she comes flying out just as I get there and, just like the first bird, she makes me jump and sometimes say a bad word!
Second Bird Nest
You know what’s neat about this nest? See all the red feathers? We still find feathers around the yard from when the dogs killed our chickens in December. This little bird used some of the feathers to make her nest. Could be Miss Hattie’s feathers providing a soft, snug nest for these baby birds when they hatch.
By the time all the baby birds have hatched and flown away, it will be time to start watching carefully for snakes, scorpions and other critters . . and I’ll be wishing that my biggest concern while outside was a mama bird!
Kris says
Oh – our house can so commiserate! A few years ago we had barn swallows, who make their nests much like your back porch bird – of mud, on our front porch. They weren’t on a post right at the front door so we decided to watch them and it was fun to see the babies grow and fly away. Well, that birdie family made the biggest mess – got out the power sprayer! Hubby placed pieces of 2×4’s on top of the posts so they couldn’t nest on the porch again.
Your bird in the bag takes the cake for the strangest place to nest!! Maybe once the eggs hatch and you hear the “peep, peep” of baby birds, they won’t startle you so – fingers crossed!
Carolyn says
We have a robin, that is beating it’s self against one of our windows. (TMI HERE) there is blood splatters all over the one window.
I tried repeatedly scaring it away. I now have a towel up there. So what has it done? moved to a stained glass window and there is a ledge. It is picking at it’s reflection! Don’t you just love spring?
BTW how do I get blood off a window that is a second floor?? It does not open.
ARGH!!!!.
Ruth says
Last year, my sister had a mocking bird nest right above her front door. The birds divebombed her and her son every time the went in or out of the door. So then, she decided to use her back door. And the birds followed her there. She was much relieved when they were finished rearing their babies.
Howdy says
We had a couple Robins that gave me grief one year…
One had made a nest on the outer edge of the porch roof overhang. Of course every time we came and went she would make a fuss. There was also one that had a nest over in the grape vines by my garden. She was a real pain because she would first fly away and squawk to draw me away from her nest and when that wouldn’t work she would dive bomb me! LOL they can sure be protective of their nests!
Diana in RR,TX says
I miss our swallows-first year here they nested very close to our bedroom door on the back porch. We could watch them from the family room windows. They later moved their nests to just the left of the front door. We hardly ever use the front door so I put paper down on the entry under their nest. The past few years they roost on the ledge above that door but have not been building nests. The mockingbird nests in the front hedges and flies out whenever we walk past. We just found a half eaten mockingbird in the birdbath-think a hawk was interrupted while having dinner. Hopefully it wasn’t momma. Normally they go after the white wing doves that feed at our ground feeder.I am sure we have several wren nests-will have to start watching the girls when they are outside. Anything moving on the ground is a play thing, especially for Tilly.
Louise Clark says
The bird in the picture is a mockingbird. They are very aggressive around their nests. They will scare you to death when they swoop down at you and they will pull your hair if they feel threatened, ask me how I know. LOL. Pray for the babies to hatch and get out of the nest fast.
Sherrill says
I have a little Carolina wren nesting in a flower pot right beside my front door so I try not to use that door too much (didn’t anyway) but I’ve warned the lawn guy not to use the loud blower near there. But she usually doesn’t come out when the front door is used. I had one years ago that nested in an empty lawn/leaf bag box that we’d left on the back porch! Too funny; but this one has built a very interesting rounded nest with a little hole in it.
Pat says
Years ago,I put a pretty basket of flowers on the front storm door…yes, it must have had a For Rent sign on it. We used the back door(13 steps). If the lights in the house were off, I would ease open the front door and watch the babies through the storm door.
Sue S says
We had a couple of pigeons build a nest right above the door or our office a couple of years ago… peeping, pooping, flapping around, nice way to impress the customers! The janitor tried to keep the walk clean but that was a challenge. After they all left the next he found some wire gizmos to put in the corners, supposedly to discourage further nesting in that spot. I don’t know if it worked… we moved out of that building the next spring. Not because of the birds, but I was glad to go since there was no other easy way out of the building.
Sue S says
obviously I meant NEST, after they left the nest…
Viki says
Love the birdie in the sack! We had a little Phoebe nest under our balcony in a mud nest covered with lichen and it looked just like your bird. She, too, would fly past just as we would step outside. We did love her and her babies, though. Sadly, one day we found the nest destroyed and the babies gone. It was in a place such as I couldn’t imagine what got them, too high and inaccessible for the cat or wild animal. Perhaps a snake?
Viki says
We had a wren get under the hood of the lawn mower and build a nest. Luckily, Lane checked the oil before mowing and saw her nest full of eggs. We didn’t mow till the babies grew up and flew off, luckily only a few short weeks.
Linda Smith says
You are honored to have our state bird, the mockingbird, nesting on your property. They are very territorial and will dive bomb you any time you come near their nest. They mimic the calls of other birds perfectly. I had one trying to nest in my yard. I propped a used bathroom mirror against the fence hoping the bird would see its reflection and think it was another bird’s territory. It worked! That silly bird tried to “get” the bird in the mirror. He eventually got discouraged and established the nest in a neighbor’s yard. Good luck and wear a hat when you go outdoors so they don’t peck and poop on you!
Diana says
Oh my .. we had to cut down our one tree as it split from the heavy winter snow. Well it was leaning into the blue spruce that housed many bird nests and that tree had to be cut down. So DH said he would put me up some 4×4’s with nesting boxes on them in the wild rose patch that we have all the way across our back yard fence. This way the birds will have some protection and we can still see them but at a farther distance so no startling will happen (like it used to all the time, scared the you know what out of me when you have many parents coming after you …
Susan says
I’m pretty sure if they had cell phones, they’d be tweeting their friends. LOL
Dawn in East Texas says
That bird looks like a Phoebe to me. We like them so much my husband built a few shelves for them to build nests on. They are great acrobatic fliers and when the eggs hatch you can watch both parents feed them. Sometimes they will snag a huge dragonfly out of the air and stuff it in the little ones mouth – funny. Their song sounds like their name – phoebe, phoebe. Enjoy them.
Jean says
Did I miss something about Boots? Is he living in the shop now? Love that cat.