April 12, 2005

Birds!

Miss Jordana notes the robins who have nested on their front porch seem to have had some babies.

I have a feeling we're going to have some pretty soon, as well. This weekend I was outside cooking again (hamburgers--mmmm) and as I was standing there with my usual vacant look and slack jaw, something flitted by just outside my peripheral vision. I looked and couldn't see anything, but for some reason, the pressure sprayer attracted my attention. I don't know why, but I went over to look at it--it's had the bung and pump handle out of the top all winter, and the hose was hanging down off of it--I figured it wouldn't hurt to neaten things up a bit and get it off the table and put it in the Not-the-LEAST BIT-Shedlike Plastic Playhouse. Until I saw something inside--stinkin' little birds had filled it up with straw and made themselves a nice tin can home.

So, I left it alone.

I figure that gives me an excuse for not spraying the weeds in the flower beds. I don't know what kind of birds they are--I haven't actually seen any. And I made the mistake of telling Catherine, so she now feels compelled to go out and peek inside every day after she gets home from school. I keep telling her she's going to make the birds scared and they'll leave, but for some reason she's immune to such reasoning.

Anyway, we might have us some birds. I just hope they don't decide to fly inside like the one did at Christmastime...

Posted by Terry Oglesby at April 12, 2005 09:34 AM
Comments

We have about 40 yellow Finches, two pair of Bluebirds, a flock of Robins and about 30 Doves. I think it come from feeding them.

Posted by: Larry Anderson at April 12, 2005 09:45 AM

We seem to attract more than our share of starlings and doves. Time for some different feed, I think.

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at April 12, 2005 09:55 AM

We have wrens or something that always want to nest in our front porch lights. We've taken to leaving the lights on full-time in the spring to discourage this. It's not that I don't think the birds are neat, but last year we let them build a nest and our neighbor left our porch lights on while he was looking after the house. The eggs got cooked and the nest almost started a fire.

I'm surprised these robins have been comfortable right next to our front door, but they seem content and it takes a really large commotion to even make them fly away temporarily.

Posted by: Jordana at April 12, 2005 10:32 AM

Robins seem to not mind being around people. The flock in our yard will let you walk right up to them before moving a few feet. There is one samll bird, a Titmouse I think, that sits on the feeder until I am about 3 feet away then flies to a limb about six feet away and watches while I fill the feeder.

Posted by: Larry Anderson at April 12, 2005 11:04 AM