However to my shock and delight two events happened .. a couple of years ago when the deck from hell was being destroyed and a new one built .. I found an amazing tiny treasure in my Karley Rose grass .. a beautiful nest complete with eggs from the previous year .. I felt guilt because the mom may have deserted the nest do to the foot traffic around the grass .. then when I meant to save the nest ..
It got lost in the MESS of the back garden with the deck building.
Second was even a bigger shock .. chickadees (one of my most favourite little birds) set up a nest in an ornamental birdhouse built on old branches as garden art .. husband and I were both so surprised !
I worried because it has a metal roof .. but, it is in the shade and has a wonderful elderberry shrub Sutherland Gold that adds extra protection
Chickadees are VERY fast birds and settle only seconds .. so pictures of them are usually blurred I am sorry to say !
I saw some SERIOUS HIGH PRICES !! .. do birds have banks and mortgage specialists, to wrestle a mortgage out of ???!!!
A lot of "Are you KIDDING me?" was being said over and over again ..
Would you believe $429.00 ?? for the above mansion ... and $255.00 for the bottom one ...
Talk about "how crazy is this ??" .... I am NOT that crazy .. nope ! not even if I win the lottery type of crazy wanted to burn money to light a fire to roast a marshmallow type of crazy !
These above two are in the $23 range which is fine with me .. but look at the other cuties I found .. of course higher in price but not as bad as the first ones ..
I love this PINK one (Gracie this is for you girl !)
The Christmas themed one .. well Darla girl I think that is right up your ally ?
In the end .. I am just happy that these little wonders of the bird kingdome like my garden enough to have their babies in ... so I'll clean out the old one and ordered some new ones and wait to see if the sweet cycle of life will happen in front of our eyes again ?
16 comments:
I think the chickadees will be thrilled with any house you provide for them, Joy, but I doubt they need 5-bedrooms and 3 baths:) All of the examples you found are cute, but I think after a few seasons outside they'll start to look like the plainer one anyway.
Lucky you to have them choose your garden for their home and place to raise their families.
I have quite the collection of handmade bird houses from over the years that my Dad has made. As much as I want them to be placed outside for the birds, I also hesitate. He most likely isn't going to make any more ever again...sigh. So it's a toss up, keep them pristine, or put them out.
Love the shots that you found, they are pretty elaborate.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Those are so cute, Joy! I should put up a bird house this year. I keep saying it every spring and then I get to it too late. The ones at the start of your post are ridiculously priced! Holy cow! That's quite a chunk of change for a bird house. I don't think the birds that come into my yard can afford to have a mortgage like that (giggle...).... Hope you are doing well!
Ooooo...I love! Especially the pink one and the seaside one! (The mansions are a bit much for my taste - not sure the birds should have a nicer house than mine! lol) Look forward to seeing pics of the next little bird family to settle in the 'hood. :)
Love the one with the driftwood. Easy to add to a purchased house if you wanted(-:
I bet the birds will be happy with their new home(-: They don't seem to care here where they are staying as long as it is dry.
We have a lottttt of birds.
Well hope all is well there! Enjoy your week!!
Our bird houses are made from scrap wood, roughly sawn into shape and hung up high in the trees where they will be safe - and the shoddy craftsmanship will be too far away to notice! I don't think any of our bird houses cost more than the price of 17 nails.(Yes, that's how many nails I use for a birdhouse - 2 to hang it from, 24 to keep the pieces together and one to make a latch to allow opening the bottom for easy cleaning.)
-The birds don't seem to mind living in houses that are inferior in craftsmanship to most cardboard boxes; it keeps them dry and sheltered from predators.
(I should really make some more this summer so I can hang them up in autumn and the birds will start using them next spring!)
What luck having a Chickadee nesting in your garden. They come to our feeders but the wrens rule the bird houses here.
Some of the bird houses look better than people houses. I have a few that I bought at craft fairs, no fancy and the birds actually use them.
Eileen
I haven't looked at birdhouses lately. The 'show' ones are beautiful, but I would go with the simpler ones, in natural materials. Did the chickadees raise babies last season?
Rose girl hello there !
I was in shock when I saw them using my garden art house .. I have no idea what it is like in side .. I have to try and open it to clean it out this Spring .. the chicks feed at the ball feeder we put up a few months ago and we love seeing them in the yard : )
Jen I would probably keep them indoors too .. you have precious memories with them .. so just find some others to see if you can get some "renters" in the garden !
Hello Martha girl : )
It would be too funny to have such elaborate bird houses in our gardens eh ? I have to find the plain ones and clean out the one I never thought a bird would nest in. I love having the chickadees in the garden they are so pretty and their song so sweet : )
Get a birdhouse up girl !!!
Ms S how true is that ? Birds having better houses than we do ? LOL .. seeing so many different ones do give you ideas on how to add on to plain ones though .. I have to get busy and get one or two more to put up and see what happens : )
Cindee girl I meant to e-mail to ask how the wedding went ? I hope it was a wonderful affair and you had a good time. I bet you could knock out some gorgeous bird houses with very little effort girl !
Flane hello there and who cares how many nails you use when the birds love their houses no matter the craftsmanship ! It sounds like you have a wonderful community of birds that share the garden with you : ) and I know they don't care about how they look as long as they are dry and safe ! LOL
Lisa girl I can't tell you how shock I was to see them use that funny little house .. I wonder if they will use it again this year .. it would be wonderful but I do want to get two more that might be a bit more accommodating !
I love their little song .. one of the first birds I had paid attention to as a little girl : )
Eileen girl it is a hoot to see the style of some houses .. and who in their right mind would pay over $400 !!!! LOL .. I really have to find a few more for these sweet birds : )
Sandy girl hello there ! YES !!
I was in complete awe that they chose our garden to raise their babies .. it gave me such a thrill!
I have to get seriously organized to make things right back there before the little ones start looking for the housing situation?LOL
Those houses can be pricey things. I got my Bluebird house cheap on Ebay and then painted them. Golly gee I did not want the birds to have fancier houses than the one I live in. LOL!
Lona girl I totally agree with you!
What is the world coming to if our birds are living in more expensive houses than we are ? LOL
I have to go hunting locally for some bird houses !
Man! Those are some serious bird houses. I saw a tutorial online about making a bird house out of that black plastic planter that they use at the nursery when you buy them plants. I can't find the link anymore, but anyway it was sure lovely. :) Visiting!
Adin thank you for stopping by !
if you ever find that link again .. I would be really interested in seeing it .. I have a load of nursery pots that would be great to use for that type of thing : )
Yaye! Hi there! I finally found it. I am thinking of making this bird house this year when the weather starts to warm up again and gardening season is on. :) Hope you like!
http://blueroofcabin.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-bucket-into-bird-house.html
Adin ! OMG! ... that is an amazing bird house(apartment building?)
If I were handy at all this would be a project I would love to do !
I can't wait to see how you do with it .. this gal is so creative it is amazing .. I would like to feature her on a post .. I have to go visit her blog again .. thanks so much for the link and I am sure yours will look wonderful too !
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